FateStayPersona
by RionAgrias
Summary: The Search for the Holy Grail and the Battle between Masters and Servants takes a different twist as the battle reaches Tatsumi Port Island. Fate/Stay night Persona involving P3/P4 with alternate Servants, Masters, and Personalities
1. Chapter 1 The Servant

_**Chapter 1**_

_**The Servant**_

_Thoughts_

I own nothing but my lack of creativity. I do not own anything to do with Fate/anything or Persona.

It's Souji mainly because Golden is not out and Ultimate is not out. Besides, Souji has been added to my spell check. I use first names because… I am writing in English for this story. If you want Japanese, I am not in the mood today or tomorrow. I will, however, use –san and –chan and whatever else if it refers to the Persona characters because this is Tatsumi Port Island (P3 world). I will go with how the games use the names.

Servants will be 'Personas' and the Personas will not match up to the Personas in their respective games. If I said this would not be just a little AU on personalities on the Masters and locations, I would have you send me to the nearest mental institution. If I don't take other liberties with a few things, not gender, but slight variations on weapons and appearances… I would still be struggling on what Servants would be what. They have to be humanoid, yes? Yes, girl servants will have boy masters and vice-versa.

I will use my skills in German and then bastardize it for the spells.

Relationships? Haven't decided on it…

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tatsumi Port Island, Gekkoukan High, Baseball Field<strong>_

_Alright… I just need to get a hit… Come on! Can I not fail for once!_

Souji Seta was the ninth batter for the Gekkoukan's Varsity baseball team. It took him almost all of the first semester to break into the starting roster. He was batting ninth while playing left field, but at least he had made the team. This game in late June would probably be the last in the semester, but it was also the most important. If they won the game; Gekkoukan would actually be playing in the regional competitions. Unfortunately, in this current game, Souji was batting 0-4 with three strikeouts and one groundout that led to a double play. The team was down 3-2 with two outs in the ninth inning. The batter before him had hit a double and now it was up to the one person who had been struggling to hit anything but air all of this past month to pull out a miracle on a Thursday afternoon with the sun blazing down on him.

Souji sighed as he walked from the warm up circle to the batter's box. He knew that many of his teammates had lost faith, especially when they knew it had come down to him. They had hoped that the guy before him had hit a home run instead of a double. Souji was surprised that the couch did not call in a pinch hitter for that matter. Maybe it was just for the fact that if it went to extra innings, they wanted Souji out in left field; he played better defense than offense. Regardless of the reasons on why Souji was now in the batter's box; it was now up to him.

Souji's dark blue batting helmet covered his short silver hair as he gripped the silver-colored aluminum bat. As he looked out onto the field, he saw his teammate at second, who was probably praying that Souji would get a hit. The sun was bearing down as Souji looked at the pitcher who had his arm behind his back, ball in hand. The sweat had run down his forehead all the way to his blue jersey and towards to his white baseball pants with grass stains caused by a diving catch in the fourth inning. Now, he was facing the best closer in the region who had struck out five straight before the guy before him hit the double.

_Well… no pressure. Maybe, Kai's hit will have shaken his confidence just a little._

That was probably a misconception because the pitcher Souji was staring at looked as cold as ice, ready to kill the batter. The only way he was shaken was if his whole scary persona was just a façade to hide his nervousness.

Souji had no chance of hitting the slider that flew by his torso at a speed that should not have belonged to a typical high school pitcher. This reliever was definitely headed to a university that had a good sports team, and maybe… just maybe; he would be headed to the pros. Souji stepped away from the batter's box, dropped his bat between his legs, and adjusted his gloves. He exhaled his held breath and stepped back into the box. As he held the bat above his shoulders; Souji faced the one hundred-ninety-five centimeter tall pitcher and stared him down as he raised his leg and threw his next pitch. Souji watched the ball as it zoomed towards him.

Souji knew it was a strike, so he swung at the ball as the leather sphere neared the plate. The ball flew by so quickly that Souji nearly lost his balance after his follow through. It was embarrassing; it really was. Souji could feel his team's eyes on him; their disappointment evident. He knew they were waiting for him to strike out, or for him to pop it up. At best, Souji might ground it straight to first base. He closed his eyes and focused on the pitcher… he focused on the ball that would be pitched.

_I promised myself… that I would not use this in something so trivial, but… I'm already unpopular enough as it is. No one should notice…_

As the pitcher went into his windup, with his eyes still closed, Souji muttered under his breath, "Siehe Ungehemmter…" (To see… uninhibited)

Souji's gray eyes did not actually change, but instead… they gleamed for an instant. To Souji, it was as if time slowed slightly. As the opposing pitcher started to throw, Souji could make out every piece of stitching in the white leather; he could watch the ball spin towards him. Souji's trick would not last after he took the swing. If the silver-haired young man in fact got a hit, he would have to run the bases at full speed. The important thing about this spell was that no one would notice it except those affected, and the only thing he was directly affecting was the ball. Souji took in a deep breath as the spell he casted was about to wear off. He closed his eyes and started his swing as the ball neared the plate…

Souji heard the crack of his aluminum bat as the ball connected with the blunt object. Time retuned to normal as the spell wore off and he started moving, all while watching the ball fly high into the sky. As Souji rounded first, it headed towards right field; it was really high in the air. Souji prayed that he had not hit it too high and that the right fielder would make an easy catch by the warning track. However, the outfielder kept heading back and back, so far that Souji knew that he would not be able to catch up to it. For a moment, he thought that he would be the savior of the game; he would have won it for everyone by hitting a game-winning homerun. Halfway to second base, Souji realized that the ball was heading on the wrong side of the foul poll. The ball he had slowed had made Souji swing the bat too early, forcing the ball wide.

_Damn it!_

As he walked back to home plate, he heard a smattering of sighs of relief from the opposing team and sounds of disbelief from his own teammates. The fact that someone like Souji had almost pulled off a hit like that against a pitcher as good as the one he was facing was probably why everyone was in shock.

As Souji took his place back into the box, which was right in front of the catcher; he knew that he could not try that spell again. Souji's family… they were from a long line of magicians; it was just… that he had been all but abandoned by his parents. He had moved constantly all of his life and had very little time for learning magic. Instead of learning magic firsthand from his father, his mother had no magical talent, he learned from a book his father entrusted him as a child after the second time he was dumped off in a foreign city. Now that his parents were in America, Souji was left by himself in Tatsumi Port Island to study not just his regular studies, but also the magical arts. Unfortunately, his talents as a mage were somewhat lacking. He would never be a great magician.

Still, Souji could not use another spell. At least he had made contact with the ball, and since the teams did not notice the spell; it would be more respectable if he bowed out now. He gripped his bat; he loved this bat for some reason. It was just special to him and he had used it since he was tall enough to grip it properly. Souji raised the bat and bent his knees. Souji watched the windup of the pitcher and the release. He saw that the ball was a little wide and expected it to be a curveball. Souji was about to make a motion to move his foot forward when the ball stopped curving and instead… it flew straight towards Souji's left shoulder. Souji tried to pull away, but the ball still slammed into his shoulder at a blazing speed. As the batter collapsed to the ground, every person who was not standing up in the dugout raced to their feet and quite a few moved towards Souji. Another few teammates moved towards the pitcher, which caused quite a few of the opposing team members to rush to the pitcher's defense.

Souji might be expected to join the ones who were charging the mound, but his shoulder was killing him. He would leave the arguing and shoving to his teammates and to the other team; Souji would sit by the plate, clutching his shoulder.

It took five minutes to clear out a near-riot; it resulted in an ejection for each team, not like it mattered too much in the ninth inning. They replaced Souji for a pinch runner. The manager, the club advisor, clapped him on the back when he walked back to the dugout. The best part was that it would not be his fault if the team lost. He would just have to accept the fact that even with a magical spell; Souji could not save the game.

Souji was right… the next batter popped up straight to the center field on the first pitch. The other team started celebrating as soon as the ball hit the outfielder's mitt. It was an important game after all. Souji sighed; it still stung to lose like that, especially after sacrificing his body like that.

The Gekkoukan's baseball team slowly moved away from the field, most of them had their heads down after the tough loss. Souji clutched his shoulder as he moved towards the area where he could wash his face.

From the rooftop of Gekkoukan High, an emotionless girl with very short blond hair with a golden headband and a red ribbon on her school uniform moved away from the fence where she was watching the game. The girl put her hands together as she walked away from the roof and headed downstairs.

"Confirmed usage of spell…," the girl muttered under her breath, "Target acquired…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Outside Gekkoukan High<strong>_

Souji had finally changed out of his uniform and put most of his equipment into a duffle bag. The locker room had been pretty quiet after the loss and he was one of the last ones to leave the school. He had a large red welt where he had been pelted by the baseball, which was at least better than the injury he believed he had sustained. Souji's best friend was there to greet Souji; his friend had watched the silver-haired young man play in the game. Yosuke Hanamura had been his friend for years and when he moved from Inaba, where his uncle and his younger cousin lived, moved to Tatsumi Port Island with him. Yosuke was the son of a manager of a very prosperous department store, and because of certain bullying from others… Yosuke moved away from Inaba to Tatsumi Port Island.

Yosuke waved at Souji as he approached, gave a small smile, and showed body language that reminded Souji of someone who was pretending to be disappointed in Souji's efforts. Souji rolled his eyes as he walked and closed the distance to him. Yosuke had fluffy brown hair to match his dark eyes. On top of Yosuke's uniform were his familiar silver headphones. Souji thought it was nice to see that at least one person had watched his game; no matter how badly he played.

"Yo…," Yosuke said as he met up with his friend.

"Hey Yosuke…," Souji said in return.

"Nice game, Souji…," Yosuke smirked, "How's your shoulder?"

"It hurts like hell…," Souji answered. Thinking about the injury made the pain well up a little bit inside.

"A little ice will make it all better," Yosuke suggested.

"Probably…," Souji agreed.

"I'm just impressed you didn't go and pop that pitcher in the face for hitting you with that pitch," Yosuke smirked.

"I was in too much pain to think about doing that," Souji responded.

In actuality, Souji did not like to fight unless it was a last resort. The last time he scuffled with anyone… it was actually with Yosuke. It was one of those friendly fights that actually made you better friends afterwards, but it hurt like hell anyways. His little cousin had to help him clean a lot of blood off the floor of their house when he got back.

Souji sighed as Yosuke said, "Do you think you're ready to head back to the dorm?"

"Alright…," Souji nodded.

Souji and Yosuke lived in a lavish five floor dorm building; it was extremely lucky for the two of them. It was because they lived in the only co-ed dorm that was affiliated with Gekkoukan High. There were mainly second-years and third-years living there, including a shy girl with green hair named Fuuka who excelled in working with technology and a champion of the boxing club named Akihiko. That did not even include a hot-tempered blond-haired kid that was secretly a momma's boy named Kanji or a girl who was actually part of the family who developed the school, a beautiful girl with natural red hair named Mitsuru.

The two friends headed away from the high school and started towards their dorm. On the way the two of them chatted idly, but it was not until they reached a small-ish shopping area called Paulownia Mall did Yosuke and Souji start a meaningful conversation.

Paulownia Mall had a nightclub, a records store, a coffee shop, arcade, and karaoke. It also featured a small antique store and a pharmacy. There was a police station to break-up the nightclub ruffians just in case it got out of hand. There was only one place in town that dwarfed it and the Iwatodai Station was more like a strip mall than anything else. The only other place to go shopping was much larger than Paulownia Mall, but had nowhere near the amount of places to visit… outside of a cinema and a flower shop.

As Souji passed 'Power Records' with Yosuke, the boy with fluffy brown hair said to him, "Have you ever been to 'Club Escapade'?"

"No… it's not open to people our age, Yosuke… why?" Souji said.

Souji used his peripheral vision to look at the nightclub while Yosuke answered the silver-haired guy's friend, "Well… sometimes they let younger guys and girls in on special occasions." Yosuke smiled as he added, "Like tomorrow…"

"Tomorrow…?" Souji looked perplexed, "What's tomorrow…?"

It appeared the smile that Yosuke had put on was to hide the excitement he had and the smile collapsed. He could not hold in the excitement as he said, "Dude…Risette's final concert! It's playing at 'Club Escapade'… Friday night at Eight!"

Risette, or Rise Kujikawa, was a rising idol who took Japan by storm a few years back. Suddenly, a few months ago, she started wishing for a normal life again… or so she said. She suddenly started a farewell tour and apparently her last concert was at none other than Tatsumi Port Island's 'Club Escapade'. Souji was not sure exactly what it looked like, but it was awfully small. Why Rise was doing a concert there, Souji did not know.

Souji had to ask, "So… are you hoping for a chance to see her before or after?"

Yosuke shook his head, "No man…" He pulled out two sheaves of paper, "Take a look at these!"

Souji took a closer look at what was in Yosuke's hands. The pieces of paper were tickets. Could they really be tickets to that concert Yosuke was talking about? Yosuke idolized Risette and had a huge crush on a slim natural red-haired girl he had never seen in person.

_Ever since Yosuke saw that commercial with Rise in that swimsuit… but does he really have tickets to Rise's concert?_

"You actually have tickets to the concert?" Souji said in half-disbelief, "How?" They had now left Paulownia Mall.

"If you stand in line for two hours before school even starts, you can get tickets to the concert," Yosuke answered.

"So, you got one for me, too?" Souji said, a little skeptical. He half-expected the other ticket to be for someone else, like some girl Yosuke was going to beg to come with.

Yosuke nodded, "Considering all the times you helped me out when those people were trying to mess with me while I was in Inaba… I think it's only fair."

Souji was really grateful that Yosuke thought of him when he bought those tickets. Souji might not be quite as much of a fan of Risette as Yosuke, but he still thought she was cute and liked her acting in some forms. Souji guessed he would have to clear his schedule tomorrow night.

Yosuke dominated the conversation the rest of the way to the dorm, which did not bother Souji. When Souji arrived at the dorm, it would give him a chance to rest his shoulder. He used his right arm to open the door; it hurt a lot less.

It was not just the fact that it was five floors and co-ed that made the dorm special; it was the fact that everything inside in the dorm was beyond extravagant. From the cherry doors to the layered windows; the outside was beyond impressive. When Souji entered the lobby, the inside was just as impressive with oak dining tables, fancy couches, and dividers at the entrance. The crown molding at the entrance compounded the archway made it look even more expensive.

Sitting on the couch closest to the door, reading a book, was the extremely beautiful Student Council President Mitsuru Kirijo. A third-year with long and lavish red hair which complimented the ruffled additions to her school uniform; she had sort of taken over the role of dorm mother when the official one left. She was widely admired by everyone and had plenty of 'secret admirers'; it was not limited to boys.

She closed her book at Souji and Yosuke's arrival and looked up at the pair. Mitsuru could be harsh, but she was generally a nice person. God help those who harm one of the dorm members, however. She smiled at first when she looked at the two of them, but frowned when she saw Souji favoring his right side a little.

"I'm guessing your game did not go as planned?" Mitsuru stood up and then added, "And you are hurt as well?"

"It's just a bruise or something like that," Souji answered. He did not want to bother Mitsuru.

"Yeah, Gekkoukan lost," Yosuke added, "But at least Souji was not the reason they lost."

"Do you want me to take a look at it?" Mitsuru asked. Even with Souji's reassurance, Mitsuru still looked a little worried.

"No… but thank you, Mitsuru-senpai…," Souji shook his head.

"If you insist…," Mitsuru backed off a little. Mitsuru moved away from the couches. She said to Yosuke, "Oh… Yosuke, Fuuka is making dinner, so don't go off and buy something for yourself, alright?"

"Fuuka is…?" Yosuke looked seriously worried.

Mitsuru chuckled at Yosuke's apprehensiveness, "Don't worry… she's gotten a lot better."

Souji could understand where Yosuke was coming from. Fuuka, the girl who was so well-versed in using technology, was a terrible cook. She had been involved in the cooking club to try and improve her skills, but he had no idea how much it had helped. Souji hoped that what Mitsuru said about Fuuka getting a lot better was true. The last time Fuuka cooked it turned into some mystery food that could not be classified as anything. Souji thought it was supposed to be curry or something; it had gone wrong from the start. All Souji knew that his throat had burned from throwing up repeatedly.

Souji shook his head, "Okay… Yosuke, I'm going to wash up and start on the homework. I will come down for dinner afterwards."

"Alright buddy…," Yosuke responded, "I don't know how you can stomach studying when you know what's coming."

"Ha… stomach…," Souji chuckled lightly.

Souji walked up to the second floor, the guy's floor… the girls lived on the third, and then to the room farthest down to the right. After he opened the door, walked in, and dumped his duffle bag that contained his dirty clothes and favorite bat; Souji took a look around. As he looked in the mirror, he unbuttoned his shirt collar just enough so he could see his welt/bruise that had formed on his left shoulder. It would take days to heal. The bed on the opposite side of the room, Souji had to admit, was a bit more comfortable than the futon he used to sleep on. From the bed, there was a nightstand on the left and the desk on the right where he had a computer hooked up. That computer caused a lot of procrastination for Souji, especially when there was something due the next day and there was a MMORPG he wanted to play.

After clearing everything away, Souji grabbed a towel and went to the bath to wash off all remnants of grime from his baseball game. Souji made the mistake of using pure hot water on his sore shoulder at first. He waited until he could handle the pain before soaking the injury in the water again. He never really was skilled at healing himself involuntarily with magic. It was one thing he could have used in a situation like this and it was one that would not have broken his code to only use magic when necessary.

_Heal… damn you!_

Souji drained the water after he finished his bath, dried himself off, and wrapped the towel around himself. He opened the door and headed back to his room. After he changed again, Souji took out his English Lit. book, or the bane of his existence. He was actually pretty good at English, but Souji found the work tedious. The book was just used as assistance to whatever they were reading at the time. Regardless of the purpose of the book, Souji soon found himself bored out of his mind as he was mindlessly using it to check the comprehension of the text he was reading at his desk tonight.

_Stupid book… I can do this later…_

Souji pushed the Comprehension book to the side and opened up a side drawer on the desk. From the drawer, a large single red tome inlaid with gold writing that was nearly impossible to translate lay there. Souji pulled out the tome and opened up to the front page. The first symbols that Souji ever translated were right in front of him; his family's name was written out, 'Seta'. As he turned the page, Souji looked at what was in front of him, rows of spells and the methodology on how to use them. Souji's father was not around to teach him about magic, so this book was all Souji had to learn about the basics of magic.

He could not use more than five or six spells in the book; it was a lack of proper training more than anything else, Souji believed. The ability to slow time by seeing even the smallest detail as it moved was the most difficult ability he knew, and it was also the most dangerous. It was one Souji would feel tomorrow as using 'mana', or what magicians draw on to use their power, really drained Souji if he used a lot spells. The biggest drawback to Souji's inexperience was the aforementioned lack of healing spells. He knew there were multitudes of healing spells in the tome, but without the proper training… Souji could not master any of them.

Looking at the spell book, it was a necessary distraction from the tedium of worksheets and other work that would be due the next day. He had finals coming up, but Souji wanted to try and decipher a new spell. Souji knew it would most likely be futile, but… it was still a better use of his time.

_At least for a little while…_

Souji spent a whole hour trying to decipher some sort of spell; he had at least figured out what sort of spell it was. Actually, Souji had figured out the mechanics of many spells in the tome; it was the incantations and using the spells that hindered Souji. It was times like this that made Souji wish he had a competent teacher to help him out.

His father, Raidou, was a magician, and was absent from his life because of his work. His mother had no magical talent because of her bloodline. His uncle, who lived in Inaba, shunned magic and disapproved of Souji using magic. Souji believed that even though his uncle, Ryotarou Dojima, loved him dearly and thought of him as his own son; a little part of him was glad to see him go because it would rid him of the magical influence in his home. It would protect his daughter, Nanako, from Souji. Souji understood and accepted this… even if it broke his younger cousin's heart.

He just wanted a proper teacher, someone who could show him how to cast a spell properly. It was not like he could practice in the dorm; he could hurt another schoolmate if he started trying to shoot fire or something. He could not even put a proper circle in his room. Souji was even scared of trying a healing spell because if he screwed up… it could poison him and there would be no one to reverse the effects.

_This is so frustrating…_

Souji shut the book and opened the drawer just in time to hear a knock at the door. He quickly threw the tome inside and closed it so he could answer the person who would be calling for him, "Yes...?"

"Umm… can I come in?" a soft and somewhat shy voice asked. It definitely belonged to a girl, and it was a girl that Souji knew.

"Of course… come on in Fuuka…," Souji responded.

The door opened and in came a girl much shorter than Mitsuru. She had very short hair that was almost seafoam green and was still wearing her Gekkoukan school uniform, which was a sharp contrast to Mitsuru's unique summer wear. Souji had to admit she was a little cute, considering her stark contrast from many of the others who hated the conforming nature of the school regality.

She had a cheery smile on her face as she said to Souji, "Dinner's ready, Souji-san…"

The fact that Fuuka was so respectful, even to those of her same year, was another fact that Souji found a little cute. However, the two of them were just friends, and nothing more. It was probably best if their relationship stayed that way.

"Thanks, Fuuka," Souji smiled. She always insisted that he just call her 'Fuuka', and not use –san. He never bothered to use anything else, though occasionally would slip in a -chan.

Souji stood up and pushed in his chair as Fuuka asked, "Shall we go?" As Souji nodded, Fuuka's cheeks reddened slightly as she added, "Dinner should taste… good today."

Souji smiled, "Of course it will… I'm sure it will taste just fine."

As Souji followed Fuuka downstairs, he saw that many more inhabitants of the dorm were now sitting at the dining table. Mitsuru and Yosuke were already there, with Yosuke looking slightly worried. Sitting alongside Mitsuru was a slender young man with a silver buzz cut that sported a red vest with his khakis. He was a third-year like Mitsuru and also the captain of the boxing club. His name was Akihiko Sanada and was a childhood friend of Mitsuru. How the two of them met was a secret to Souji, but he did know one thing… Akihiko had a secret crush on Mitsuru that she was completely oblivious to. There was also the class clown of the second-years, Junpei Iori. He wore a dark navy blue baseball cap with his school uniform, backwards. The guy was rather jealous of Souji, only for the fact that he never made the Varsity baseball team and just did not have the defensive skills Souji had on the field. The tallest guy living in the dorm was the first-year, Kanji Tatsumi. The guy was a total badass, with his slicked-back shock blond hair, ear and a single nose piercings. If there was even a whiff of bullying at Gekkoukan, Kanji took them out. However, Kanji had a secret, and it was an amusing one. Kanji loved to sew. He was also very close to his mother, who owned a textile shop back in Inaba. He moved to Tatsumi Port Island after he was expelled from a junior high because cops thought Kanji did something wrong. Souji lived in the same town at the time and futilely tried to vouch for him.

_Jackasses…_

The only other person at the table was the resident tomboy and Yosuke's greatest enemy, Chie Satonaka. The girl with a brown bowl cut haircut was a kung-fu loving girl who got into plenty of arguments with Yosuke. It was more of a daily thing that was a distraction… a spectacle for the rest of the dorm.

It appeared that Souji was the last person and a few of them, it was really only Junpei, was annoyed to see him take so long. As Souji took his seat in-between Chie and Yosuke; it was necessary to prevent a war from breaking out, Yosuke said to Souji, "The cripple arrives…"

"Cripple…?" Chie looked confused, "What happened…?"

"Souji got beaned hard by a ball at the game today," Yosuke explained, "I saw it… he got whacked it in the shoulder and just lay there while basically the whole team rushed the pitcher."

"What a wimp…," Junpei muttered in Souji's direction, "You think you would want to get back at the guy who hit you with the ball."

Kanji, however, seemed impressed as he said to Souji, "I wish I had your self-control, Senpai."

"Keeping cool under pressure is key," Akihiko nodded in agreement with Kanji's statement.

Yosuke shook his head, "Unfortunately, the team still lost…"

"At least he still joined a club and played…," Chie directed her words at Yosuke. However, this barb seemed to hit Junpei as well.

"Are you accusing me of not doing anything, Chie!" Yosuke raised his voice.

"What have you done but play games since the semester started?" Chie retorted.

Mitsuru shook her head as Souji sighed. Junpei looked like he wanted to say something, like he wanted to argue as well… but Yosuke pulled out his tickets and said, "You see these!" He flashed the tickets to Rise's concert and said, "I waited two whole hours to get tickets to Risette's concert this morning. Two hours I could have spent sleeping…"

"Two hours you could have spent catching up on your homework," Mitsuru said softly.

Yosuke looked in the third-year's direction for only a second, but it would be suicide to say anything bad to Mitsuru. It was bad enough to argue with Akihiko. Instead, he focused his attention towards Chie. Meanwhile, Chie responded, "You call buying Risette tickets worthwhile? You only bought them because you think she's hot… You don't even like her music, or her acting."

Yosuke was about to continue, but before he could say anything else, Fuuka entered with the entrée she had slaved over for who knows how long. Souji had to admit that it looked delicious and that it smelled just as good. When she placed it at the center of the table, Kanji was the first to say something, "That looks great, Fuuka-senpai!"

"Oh…," Fuuka smiled with a red tinge, "Thank you, Kanji-kun…"

It was not until Mitsuru cut into it and took a bite before she said to Fuuka, "It tastes delicious, Yamagishi…" When she heard those words, Fuuka really blushed."

Souji had not tried it, but he was not going to… not until Fuuka took her seat. It was as if his friend was waiting for his approval as well… waiting for everyone's approval.

"Fuuka…," Souji said calmly while looking at her, "Please sit…"

Fuuka looked straight at Souji with her green eyes. She bit her lower lip before taking her seat next to Chie. Only then, did Souji try Fuuka's food. Mitsuru was right; it was delicious as the red-haired young woman had said it was. He smiled in Fuuka's direction, which only made Fuuka blush again. The meal went on in silence for a while, without even an argument between Chie and Yosuke. It did not stay this way, however.

Apparently, something Souji did annoyed Junpei, so as Souji was about to stand up to take his plate to the sink; Junpei said to Souji while raising his head slightly, "Hey buddy… how's your search for a girlfriend going?"

Souji had not gone out with a girl since a terrible break-up with a girl named Yukiko while he lived in Inaba. She was an innkeeper's daughter and he cared for her dearly. It was a terribly messy break-up and Souji wanted to shove all of those memories aside; he did not even want to think about girls for a while. It was one of those reasons why he did not think about asking Fuuka out. It was also a reason why he was willing to leave Inaba.

"Better than yours, apparently," Souji quipped.

Souji smirked at his quick retort. He knew that if he had gone through a bad break-up, then Junpei had gone through a worse one only a few days ago. Junpei had been dating a girl named Chidori. She was a gothic Lolita who wore long white dresses even in the summer and was constantly cutting herself as she drew pictures. Souji would not be surprised if she was drawing with her blood. The break-up was harsh and Souji even saw Junpei crying at one point. The only reason Souji thought that his action might have sent Junpei off the deep end would be… the soft spot Souji's baseball rival had for Fuuka.

Souji saw Junpei's face screw up in anger. Souji almost wanted for Junpei to come after him. Souji had resisted knocking out that pitcher, but Junpei… Souji just did not get along with him. Luckily for Junpei, he was stopped by Akihiko asking for him to bring him his plate so he could clean up and start his homework. Akihiko was not quite as smart as Mitsuru; she was the smartest person in the school as well as being one of the best looking. However, Akihiko was extremely studious, and generally had some of the highest grades in the third year of studies.

Souji left to go back upstairs right before another argument started between Chie and Yosuke; he heard the yelling begin as he closed the door to his room. He did not open that drawer that contained the tome full of magic spells when he sat back down at his desk this time around. This time, he got back to work on his homework. There would be no screwing around after dinner. He had exams coming up soon and that meant Souji needed to keep up on his work.

It was after midnight when Souji threw his head down on the pillow. As he slept, he had a terrible dream where instead of using his bat to hit baseballs; Souji used his bat as a tool to hurt people… he used it to hurt people he knew. He could not clearly make out their faces, but… he just knew that it was people that were important to him. The same dream looped over, and over in his head until he woke up hours before his alarm was supposed to go off. Unable to go back to bed, Souji lay there wide awake with nothing but bad memories of his dream ingrained inside of him.

Souji yawned as he buttoned up his shirt and headed downstairs. Fuuka and Yosuke were waiting for him when he reached the bottom steps, Fuuka with toast and coffee in her hands.

_You really are a life-saver, Fuuka..._

Souji gratefully accepted the food and coffee from the girl with green hair and sat down on the couch that faced the TV for what would be only a few minutes. Souji knew that they would not have a lot of time before they would have to leave and that most of the others had probably had left by now. He still turned on the news at least for a minute to see what was going on with the world. Souji had turned it on while the newscaster was speaking about the weather. It appeared that it would be a sunny day with tomorrow being a good chance of rain.

_At least today will be nice…_

When the news shifted to local events, Fuuka and Yosuke joined in watching, just in time to hear a newswoman speaking in front of a local bookstore at Iwatodai, "Here I am at Iwatodai… near the train station at a local bookstore. It appeared that two elderly people, a man and a woman, collapsed due to a gas leak. There is also a report of a third person, a young man who died… in what we believe to be a homicide. We are investigating the cause of the homicide."

_A gas leak? Homicide?_

"That's crazy!" Yosuke exclaimed, "Someone was killed by the bookstore?"

Fuuka looked shaken. Souji immediately went to her side and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I was just over there… looking at cookbooks… two days ago," Fuuka whispered.

"Man… that's creepy," Yosuke admitted, "You were there so recently." Suddenly, Yosuke chuckled, "Maybe Kanji caused the gas leak… you know… gas leak, Kanji..."

Souji gave him a look and Yosuke stopped laughing. Souji looked to Fuuka and said, "I'll walk with you to school today, okay?"

"Thanks…," Fuuka nodded.

Souji knew Fuuka was a little out of sorts this morning, and it was understandable. To Souji, it reminded him of his first year at Gekkoukan, when he did not really know anyone at the school besides Kanji and Yosuke. He found a friend, a friend who happened to be a girl, named Fuuka. He got her to open up by walking with her to school. It was because of this that they were such good friends. The two of them did not walk together quite as often, mainly because of the rumors that they were an item. However, this morning, Souji would not mind hearing random shit if he could assuage Fuuka's worries.

Souji hoped Fuuka felt a little better by the time the two of them, and Yosuke, who was trailing a bit behind, reached the long path that led to Gekkoukan High. It was a massive and impressive high school that was meant to take students' breaths away each time they saw it. Unfortunately, Fuuka and Souji did not have class together besides the occasional P.E., with Souji in 2-F and Fuuka in 2-E. He would have to hope that Fuuka would be okay from here on out.

"How are you feeling Fuuka?" Souji asked at the shoeboxes, not minding the looks he was getting from a few of the others.

"I'll be okay…," Fuuka pursed her lips.

"I just don't want what you felt this morning to affect you," Souji said, drawing more stares from people.

Fuuka gave Souji a look, "I don't want you to worry…"

"If you keep this up, you'll start apologizing to me, Fuuka…," Souji said.

"I'm sorry," Fuuka apologized, confirming what Souji said, "I'll be fine…"

Souji shook his head as he let Fuuka go ahead. Instead, he walked with Yosuke, who was in the same homeroom as he was, up the stairs at the far right end of the white-tiled lobby up to the second floor. From there, he went straight past Fuuka's classroom to his own, which was across from the Student Council room.

Souji walked past Junpei's desk; Junpei was standing by a brunette with a rather short skirt and a tight white blouse. Yukari was probably the most popular female student next to Mitsuru in Gekkoukan, and one of the prettiest. Junpei had known the girl, named Yukari, for years. Souji knew the two of them were more acquaintances than friends, but Junpei looked pretty serious today.

_Maybe what I said last night got to him?_

"Come on, Yuka-tan!" Souji heard Junpei tell Yukari.

"No way, Stupei!" Yukari had responded.

Souji ignored Yukari and Junpei and sat down in his seat; his homeroom would start in a minute or so. A few seconds later, Yosuke smirked before he took the seat in front of him. The brown-haired young man whispered to Souji, "You ready for tonight…?"

"Oh… yeah… I'm ready for the concert," Souji nodded. He guessed that Yosuke did not want others to know that Yosuke had somehow obtained tickets to the Risette concert because they were a hard find.

"I'm really excited…," Yosuke reiterated.

"Only a few hours… Yosuke," Souji said in reassurance.

Souji had stopped his conversation with Yosuke for a moment, only to be interrupted when Yosuke suddenly tapped on his desk. Souji was unsure what Yosuke wanted. It was why he asked, "Huh? What is it?"

"Dude… Aigis is just staring straight at you," Yosuke explained.

"Aigis?" Souji raised an eyebrow before half-looking towards the corner of the room.

The girl in the corner of the room was the quietest, most introverted girl in the whole school. The girl with blond hair that was as short as Fuuka's with a wide golden headband and a large red ribbon on her uniform was a different kind of introverted than Fuuka. While Fuuka was shy… Souji believed that Aigis just did not want to talk to people. It was a shame because a lot of boys had fallen for Aigis's deep blue eyes. Aigis always had white gloves on as well. When asked, Aigis said that it was to protect her hands from drying out.

Souji's eyes glanced in that the direction and he saw Aigis's blue eyes connected to his gray ones. She looked almost as emotionless as usual, but Aigis looked like she had something to say to Souji. Part of Souji wanted to get up and see what Aigis wanted to say, but the homeroom teacher entered at that moment.

The homeroom teacher, Ms. Toriumi, a brunette of about thirty, was also the dreaded English Literature teacher. Yet, this was one of the best subjects for this school. At least the girls would think so; it was much better than the P.E. class with the pervy teacher and all of those leering guys. However, Ms. Toriumi seemed to be in a rather bad mood today.

Yosuke whispered to Souji while Toriumi was taking attendance, "I bet she's got a hangover again."

Souji smirked and was going to laugh and really had trouble holding it in when the teacher started yelling at Yosuke. Homeroom was like that, especially when Toriumi had been drinking the night before.

The morning classes were as forgettable as always. Souji had to sit through the English Literature class after homeroom and deal with a Japanese history teacher with only a 'few' screws loose. The Japanese Literature teacher was a perverse man who all the girls hated; he also paid no attention to the males. It was a relief to Souji when he got through monotonous talk about another boring novel with grammar, a guy who was obsessed with the Sengoku Era, and another book that Souji never bothered to look at. Hopefully, none of that information would be on the exam.

When the morning classes ended, Souji watched at least half of the student head downstairs for lunch. He looked down and raised his eyebrows as he realized that he had forgotten his bento in the rush to get ready in the morning. He looked up with an obvious disappointed look on his face; he expected to see Yosuke in front of him. Instead, the person who was standing there was the girl with the red ribbon on her uniform. The sight of Aigis in front of him turned the disappointed look on Souji's face into a surprised one.

"Aigis-san…?" Souji said with somewhat of a confused tone.

Aigis's tone was monotone as she asked, "Can we talk… somewhere away from the classroom?" Aigis continued when she saw that Souji looked confused, "It is not busy enough here. Someone might hear us."

"Ohh… okay," Souji nodded.

_What does Aigis want with me?_

Souji stood up as Aigis turned away from his desk and moved towards the doorway leading out of 2-F. As Souji followed, he noticed a few stares from a couple of boys and girls. He heard a snide remark from Junpei, "So much for Fuuka… leaving her for an emotionless doll…"

_Figures…_

Souji followed Aigis until they stood in-between the classrooms 2-F and 2-E. There was a bustle of passing people during the lunchtime that was not present in the static classroom of 2-F. Souji could see why Aigis wanted to leave to talk. The two of them both had their left shoulders against the wall, which was slightly uncomfortable for Souji. It was not as uncomfortable as suddenly being in front of someone like Aigis. He had no idea why she suddenly wanted to speak with him. Souji had to hurry and ask before he got lost in her blue eyes, which he found himself staring into.

Souji was a bit lost for words, mainly because he had no idea what this girl wanted, as he stuttered, "Umm…"

"I know who you are, Souji-san," Aigis told Souji, confusing the silver-haired second-year even more.

_Say what?_

"I don't think I understand what you mean," Souji raised an eyebrow.

"I watched your game yesterday," Aigis said in her soft and unmoving voice, "I saw you use a spell."

Her words widened Souji's eyes. She knew Souji was a magician, but… if she knew Souji was a magician by seeing him use a spell at the game. It could mean only one thing.

_Aigis is a magician as well?_

"You know magic as well?" Souji questioned.

"I was trained in certain skills," Aigis nodded, "Skills I have been trained in since a small child."

"Really…?" Souji said. He asked with a fleck of excitement, "Did your parents teach you?"

Aigis did not respond to Souji's question. Instead, she had slipped off one of her gloves, revealing one of her delicate-looking hands. She responded with her own question, "Do you want me to teach you how to use your spell properly?"

"Properly?" Souji moved his head to the right slightly while putting a slight inflection in his voice.

"You can increase the duration and efficiency and your spells if you let me help you…," Aigis explained.

_Aigis is willing to help me…?_

"It would be the first proper teacher… I would love to have your help, Aigis-san," Souji nodded with a smile. He asked, "When do you want to start?"

_I don't even know where Aigis lives, for that matter._

Aigis gave Souji something he never thought he would see; it was the smallest show of a smile. She answered, "How about outside the cinema, tomorrow night?"

Souji was about to agree when he heard the door to 2-E open and from the door… a girl with short green hair came out holding a small bento. The look on her face when she saw Souji with Aigis was one of great disappointment. Aigis somehow knew that Fuuka was behind her because she took her ungloved hand and touched Souji's bare forearm. The result of being touched by Aigis was a large amount of warmth that ran up his body. After the blond-haired girl touched him, Aigis said just loud enough for Fuuka to hear, "I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?"

Aigis passed by Souji back into 2-F, but Fuuka's face of disappointment said it all. She said nothing until she walked up to Souji and said in a soft voice and said, "I… I made you something since you forgot…" It was a bento box wrapped in green cloth and tied at the top she held in her hands.

"Thanks…," Souji took the bento, but after Fuuka left; he sighed. Souji had no idea what sort of mess he had gotten himself into.

Souji ate his lunch in silence, though there were a few people looking at him. A few people were muttering, asking each other if Souji had asked out Aigis. Another couple of classmates were gossiping between each other, saying that the two of them were already together. Souji would get to deny it to Yosuke later, because he knew that his best friend was smirking.

Though, there was one thing… this was Aigis after all. Though she was the most introverted girl in the school, Aigis was far too popular as a 'mysterious enigma' that many guys wanted to take a hold of. The looks of the blond-haired girl outweighed any lack of social skills that Aigis might have.

The afternoon classes consisted of subjects like math for children. Occasionally, a teacher would get sick and the school nurse would try and teach them about 'magic'. It was a mockery of what he knew, even though what he knew was just a sliver of the whole pie. It made Souji wonder what Aigis thought of Mr. Edogawa, the school nurse. If Aigis really was a competent mage… then Souji had to believe that she knew that Edogawa was spouting pure rubbish.

Souji picked up his bag after the last bell rang and hurried out of the classroom. He had a little while till the concert, enough time to head back to the dorm and change. Souji actually had another ulterior motive for hurrying out of the school, though. He did not want to run into Fuuka or someone like Junpei. Dealing with a misconception was bad enough, but dealing with people who would take advantage of those misconceptions was even worse.

Souji took some of the steps down to the first floor two at a time and walked very quickly until he reached the shoeboxes of Gekkoukan. Souji thought he had escaped everyone from 2-F; he thought he did.

"Yo, Souji!" Yosuke called out from behind him.

_It could be worse…_

Souji turned his head to the left while placing one pair of shoes in the boxes and putting the other pair of shoes on. He responded while Yosuke opened his own box, "Hey Yosuke…"

"Geez… a lot of people started talking about you and Aigis all of a sudden," Yosuke said, "See what three minutes does to you?"

"That sounds oddly dirty…," Souji shook his head.

Yosuke chuckled, "You would…" He added, "I don't know… I'll try and clear that up."

"Thanks…," Souji said with a good amount of sincerity in his voice.

As Souji and Yosuke both walked out of Gekkoukan and away from the high school, Yosuke said to him, "What was it all about? I mean… what did Aigis want?"

_Uhh…_

"Do you really want to know?" Souji asked.

"Well…," Yosuke looked like he really wanted an answer, but before Yosuke finished his statement; he was nearly run over by the track club. Yosuke turned his attention from Souji to the track team and yelled, "Pay attention to where you are going!"

"Are you okay?" Souji asked.

"Yeah… I'm fine," Yosuke muttered; he looked a little pissed off.

"If you say so," Souji said.

Yosuke did not ask Souji about Aigis after that. Souji guessed it was because of annoyance of being run into. The mood only lightened when Souji asked about Risette. Yosuke returned to normal and they made small talk until the two of them reached the dorm.

"What time do you want to get to 'Club Escapade'?" Souji asked as he opened the door to the dorm.

"No later than 7:30…," Yosuke said, "It starts at 9…"

Souji nodded a couple times, "Alright… See you there."

Souji and Yosuke lived across the hall from each other, but they were not going to walk to Paulownia Mall together. Yosuke handed Souji him one of the concert tickets before he went into the far right door of the second floor. Souji shed his Gekkoukan uniform and put on a different pair of pants and a white polo. He made somewhat of an attempt to make his hair looked somewhat presentable; it was not that his hair was looked out of place in the first place. It was not he was trying to impress Risette or something, or even some girl he might run into at the concert. Souji was doing it out of the basic idea of things; the idea that he should look respectable.

Souji would rather be early than late, so he left his room as soon he felt like he was ready. He went out the door, down the hallway and stairs, and walked straight into a blushing Fuuka. He nearly fell as he tried to untangle himself from Fuuka. Souji backed up a step when he was finally clear of the green-haired girl. It appeared Fuuka had been nervous even before Souji had run into her.

_I should really pay attention to where I am going…_

"Umm… Souji-san," Fuuka broke Souji's train of thought by holding up another small box, "You're going out today, right? I thought I'd make a snack for you since you'll be out for a while and will probably miss dinner."

It appeared that Fuuka had made something else for Souji. It was the second time today that she had cooked for him. It was both touching, and with the misunderstanding with Aigis earlier today; it was something that Souji had no idea how to fix.

"Thanks…," Souji said, taking the small box that was wrapped in the same kind of green cloth as his lunch, "I mean… really… thank you…"

Fuuka broke a small smile within the red tinges of her blush. She said to him, "Have a good time, Souji-san…"

"I will…," Souji smiled back.

"Keep Yosuke-kun out of trouble," The smile returned to normal on Fuuka's face and the blush receded.

"Now that… I can't promise," Souji's smile widened before they both started to laugh.

Souji gave a final goodbye before he left the dorm. It was not a long trip to Paulownia and he would make it well before 7:30, or so he should. However, he was not half a kilometer away from the dorm before Yosuke flagged him down.

Yosuke called out, "Souji!"

"Yosuke… I thought we were headed there at separate times…," Souji muttered as he turned.

Yosuke shrugged, "It's not my fault."

"Whatever," Souji said, "Let's just go…"

As the two sat on the shuttle to take them to Paulownia, Yosuke smirked, "That thing with Aigis didn't last long, did it? You move onto Fuuka already?"

Souji pushed Yosuke, "You're an idiot, Yosuke…"

Yosuke chuckled, "Yeah, I know…" Yosuke did turn serious after he finished laughing as he said, "I won't say that Fuuka doesn't like you though."

_I can't say that isn't true._

"Yeah…," Souji said, though his tone was very non-committal.

Yosuke used the chance to ask, "How about you? Do you like her?"

_Do I really like her enough to go out with her?_

Once again, Souji bit his bottom lip and then looked at the floor. He was broken from his thoughts when Yosuke tapped him and said, "Yo, Souji… We're here…"

Souji was relieved that Yosuke did not pester him after they arrived at Paulownia. In fact, Yosuke's attention was so dead set on Risette that it appeared that the last thing on the fluffy-haired, headphone-wearing young man was Souji's intentions towards Fuuka. As soon as Souji and Yosuke reached the mall, their eyes went straight towards 'Club Escapade'; it was for a good reason. Souji was expecting to be advertisement of Risette's final concert. However, there were no signs that Rise Kujikawa was even performing tonight. Yosuke looked a little confused, but Souji had a reason why there was a lack of advertising.

_Well… this concert is supposed to be low-key compared to the others; the venue is so much smaller than all of the other ones she performed at. Maybe she wanted it this way?_

Souji tapped Yosuke on the shoulder, "How many tickets did they have for the concert?"

"I don't know… no one knew," Yosuke shrugged his shoulders.

"How many people were in line then?" Souji said.

"I was fifteenth of about one-hundred," Yosuke answered.

_Hmm… only one-hundred… pretty small amount, yet it seemed like the whole dorm knew about the concert._

The two of them had arrived around seven-thirty, so there was little for them to do until the nightclub opened at eight. Souji took out the snack box that Fuuka had made for him; he then undid the cloth, and opened it. When he began eating the rice balls Fuuka made him; Yosuke smelled the food and said, "What are you eating?"

"Food that Fuuka made for me…," Souji answered.

"There is no way Fuuka can make two consecutive edible meals in a row," Yosuke said.

"Well… I'm eating it," Souji rebuked as he put another rice ball in his mouth; it really was good.

"Now she's able to cook along with being able to fix your broken electronics?" Yosuke raised an eyebrow. He shook his head, "Now you have to go out with her."

Souji was going to say something to rebuke his friend's words when Yosuke pointed out, "Dude! They've opened up the club."

Souji was not sure that he had ever seen Yosuke this excited before, but Souji had to make sure of something. He had to make sure that the people going inside were not just regular patrons of the club. It was the only reason Souji moved at a pace half the speed that Yosuke was moving at. Souji was only reassured that it was okay for Yosuke to act so excited when the young man with silver hair was able to make out the 'closed for special event' sign hiding on the right door of the night club.

Souji wanted to say something when he saw Yosuke almost shake with excitement when a bouncer-like character took Yosuke's ticket, but… Souji thought better of it as he let the tall and muscular guy take his ticket.

_I'll let him have his fun._

As Souji walked in through the double arched doors, he was greeted not only by a wash of purple, but also by a cacophony of sound checks on the microphones in the back. The flooring on the outer edges on the first floor was purple that led up to the dance floor into the center. Souji guessed that the dance floor would become the de facto mosh pit. There were stairs on the far left side of the club that led to a second level and a bar on the same side. At the back of the club, a DJ area was being replaced by a stage and more lighting that was brighter than the darker sets that flooded the rest of the club. There were tables on the right side of the club that had been folded up and pushed even farther over to the edge.

_They really are going out for this concert…_

Souji looked around to try and see who was actually inside right now, the demographic to be more specific; it was mainly an older crowd. In reality, Souji believed that he and Yosuke were the oldest ones in the club at the moment. At least, they might be the only ones who would not be able to order anything if they got thirsty.

_Is it me… or are there a lot of perverted Risette fans?_

Souji did not bother to try and say anything to Yosuke, mainly because he was too excited about seeing Risette at this point. So, Souji just wandered off to the bar, told the bartender that he was the one getting his drunken friend home, and got a non-alcoholic beverage. Luckily, as minutes passed a few people right around Souji's age showed up. He would not feel quite as out of place if only thirty-something guys were there.

Yosuke tugged Souji's polo as the silver-haired boy finished his juice. Yosuke pointed at the stage and said, "Look!"

Souji focused his attention to the back of the club. The stage was pretty much empty when they arrived except for the lighting and microphones. Now, the drummer and guitarists had their instruments out on stage again after their checks. The three of them were standing idly around. The concert was definitely starting soon as a hush swept over the club.

It was then a cheer broke out through the crowd, quite a few of the people older than Souji. The bright flood lights suddenly went red, green, and blue; it then went to pitch black. When the lights went back to their natural color, a single young lady appeared in the center, bringing out even louder cheers; the loudest appeared to be from Yosuke. The young girl had natural red hair that was drawn back into twin pigtails. She had dark brown eyes that were set in an extremely soft and perfectly shaped face. She wore white very short shorts that were ridiculously tight and a pink tank top that exposed her midriff. It was probably some of the older guys… Souji did not want to think about it. She had the lead microphone in her hand.

When she started the first song; Souji understood what was entrancing about her. She was not the greatest singer, but at an age right around his own; she had a way of bringing you into her heart. Risette was considered the next 'big thing' for a reason. She was beautiful, could act, sing, and make you fall in love with her with a smile; it was that smile that melted you into a pool on the ground.

_At least that's what Yosuke says…_

As two background singers started singing for a few seconds, Souji observed Risette, or Rise's smile. It did not quite melt him into a 'pool of butter', but he saw Yosuke staring straight at her, completely entranced by her. Souji half expected for lighters or cell phones to start waving when Risette started singing again.

_Well… it's only her first song; it's not even her most well-known one either._

The whole concert was basically a repeat of the first song. It was a series of cheers, older guys leering and acting perverted in front of Risette. Souji looked for signs that said 'Marry me Risette! I'm only 47!'. It was not until the last song, her most famous when performing during concerts, that it became interesting for Souji.

During a concert, on Risette's last song, "I Wish I Hadn't Fallen for You…" the idol brings a concert-goer up on stage and sings to him. The part that is most exciting for ther person is that Risette moves very close to that person at the end, a few centimeters, and almost kisses him. It worried Souji a little, only if the fact that many of the people here would make it seem so wrong…

_I will scream 'pedo' if she takes a forty-something up there for the song…_

"I wonder who she will pick…," Yosuke whispered.

"As long as it isn't some old guy," Souji responded.

The song was about a girl falling in love with a guy and having to move away because of her father's wishes. It hurts the girl so much that she regrets falling in love with him because the heartache is unbearable. The chorus is about the love she felt, but the last verse is about how she realized that the experiences she shared with the guy were well worth the pain.

It was definitely the slowest song of the concert; it also gave time for the boy Rise chose to sing to enough time to get up on stage. Souji wondered if Rise felt any pain in singing this; it was her last time singing this… if she did not come back.

Risette had finished the first verse, explaining the love she had shared with her boyfriend. The song would then move onto a chorus where Rise would pick the boy to sing to. Souji saw Rise lift her right pointer finger and begin moving it across the crowd. Souji was relieved when she moved the finger past all of the guys who were twenty years to be up on that stage with her. However, when the finger moved towards him for a moment, Souji was worried. It did not stop on Souji, thankfully; he did not really want to go up on stage. Rise made a motion for the person to come up on stage, and it was the person right next to Souji.

"Wait a minute! Me!" Yosuke looked as stunned as he had ever been in his life.

"Get your ass up there!" Souji yelled; it was the only way Yosuke would be able to hear his friend through all of the noise.

Yosuke was muttering some words of disbelief as Souji pushed him towards the stage. For the first time today, Souji was not the one who was getting the jealous looks. Though, getting jealous looks from adults looked a lot worse than from high school kids. When Yosuke made his way onto the stage; he looked beyond ecstatic. Souji's friend sat in the chair provided for him as Rise sat in one across from him. Instead of singing to the crowd, Rise's voice lowered in volume as she sang straight to Yosuke.

_I would not be surprised if Yosuke does not survive the night, purely out of joy._

As the song reached its last verse and its last few words, Souji watched Yosuke close his eyes. Risette moved until she was almost touching Yosuke's face as she sang the last words in a rapid decrescendo, "I… will… never… forget you…"

Souji swore Yosuke wished he could move a few centimeters to finish the kiss, but he did not want to die. The only reason he had been able to reach the stage safely was that the burly security guy who checked his ticket led him to stage. That guy would probably kill Yosuke if he tried anything. For that matter, it was that guy who protected Rise from a danger like middle-aged men from rushing the stage.

_That… and probably crazy guitarists…_

Once, some crazy stalker tried to rush the stage and one of her backup band guitarists knocked the guy out with his bass guitar. It was an epic sight that any band that smashes their instruments would be proud of.

Yosuke's safety was ensured on the way up to the stage, but as the brown-haired boy made his way back; Souji knew he was fair game. There were instances where the lucky bastard had gotten taken down later by rabid fanatics.

It was why Souji did his best to persuade to get Yosuke to leave right away, even though Rise had not left 'Club Escapade'. Yosuke was not worried and wanted to get an autograph.

"Come on, Souji!" Yosuke rebuked Souji's insistence to leave, "This is Risette! Her last concert! We may never get another chance to see her!"

It would be no use to try and persuade Yosuke to leave. Souji did not even think it would be worthwhile to try and fight through all these older people for an autograph; it was well-known that Risette would sign a few autographs at every concert for free… a few.

Souji shook his head and left the club after wishing Yosuke good luck. He headed back by himself, knowing that the good luck was actually for Yosuke's safety, not for getting Risette's autograph. It was Rise now, not Risette, anyways. If the shuttle was barren headed to Paulownia on the way over; it was abandoned when Souji took it back to his dorm.

When Souji opened the lavish doors to the dorm, he thought he would be the only one up… considering that Yosuke would still be at 'Club Escapade'. What surprised him was that a light near one of the couches was on, and by the couches… was Fuuka. The poor girl must have been waiting for him to return. Souji could not exactly carry Fuuka up to the third floor and take her to her room… if someone saw him.

_Mitsuru… I'd be executed. Junpei… God, I'd never hear the end of it._

Instead of taking a big risk, Souji walked up to the couch and touched his green-haired friend's shoulder. When Fuuka did not wake but instead snuggled in tighter, Souji shook Fuuka's left shoulder a little harder. It was only then she opened her eyes.

_It's a shame… she looked cute sleeping like that._

"Souji-san…?" Fuuka said groggily.

"Hey…," Souji said, "I'm back…"

"Did… did you like my food?" Fuuka asked that of all things, making Souji smile.

"It was great," Souji responded, eliciting a smile through Fuuka's grogginess. Souji said, "I'm going to bed. I'm think you should, too…"

Fuuka nodded sleepily and slowly pushed herself out of bed. Souji found himself supporting Fuuka until they reached the stairs.

_She must have really worn herself out today… maybe yesterday as well._

How Fuuka made it to the third floor, Souji did not know, but Souji was dead tired when he reached his room at the end of the second floor. Maybe it was seeing Fuuka sleeping in the lobby, but he just felt extremely tired. He threw off his polo and pants and hit the bath. After cleaning up, Souji sat on his bed. He had some unfinished homework that he would do... sometime.

As he laid his head on the pillow, his whole arm… the one Aigis had touched earlier; it flared up in pain. Souji bit his lip to resist reacting to the terrible amount of pain, but as soon as the pain struck him; it disappeared.

_Does this have something to do with that dream…? Or is it just from that shoulder injury? I should go see a doctor soon._

Sleep took Souji before the pain could return.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Inside 'Club Escapade', Almost Midnight<strong>_

At least ten bodies lay unconscious inside the nightclub and another one was lying over the bar itself. One of the ten was on the second floor; his beer had spilled on the floor. Two people walked among the bodies, occasionally kneeling among them. They seemed to be checking pulses and other vital signs. One of the people who was checking the bodies sighed and said in a voice that belonged to a girl, "At least they're alive… all eleven of them."

"I'm surprised that we got there in time," the other voice; it belonged to a taller male, "Not like yesterday…"

"What did you expect?" the girl said, "We can't always be that lucky… Lancer…"

The male, known as Lancer, moved closer to the girl and said, "Do we know which Servant did this? Do you think it is the same one as last time?"

"It could be any of them... and this time ," the girl told 'Lancer'. She said, "The only one that we've had the slightest clue in locating is Assassin, and then our leads dried up. Not to mention I have no idea where Saber might be."

"It won't be long before we start confronting each other," Lancer said to the girl, "It's all about who strikes first."

"We'll confront him tomorrow, Lancer…," the girl told him, "Don't worry…"

"If you say this… it will be so," the man shifted slightly, nearly hitting a break in the shadows; it revealed somewhat long blond hair.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Dorm, Morning<strong>_

Souji's arm did not hurt when he woke in the morning, but he remembered the pain. It had lasted for only a few seconds, but it was excruciating. Souji got out of bed and dressed in the Gekkoukan uniform after brushing his teeth and fixing his bed hair. Since Souji had gotten up earlier, Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Chie had not left when he walked downstairs. Yosuke was still present as well and stuffing his face with a makeshift breakfast. Fuuka, however, was oddly absent.

_Did she leave already?_

Souji sat down on the couch farthest to the side, noticing that the TV was on. He greeted Akihko and after a muffled hello from Yosuke, rolled his eyes.

_At least Yosuke made it back… I wonder if he got Risette's autograph._

Souji turned his attention to the TV where the same newscaster from yesterday was in front of Paulownia Mall, "I'm here in front of 'Club Escapade' where a gas leak caused eleven people to collapse overnight. Everyone was taken to the hospital after they were discovered and are now in stable condition…"

_Shit… we were just there… How coincidental that first Fuuka was just at that bookstore and now Yosuke and I were just at 'Club Escapade'? Oh yeah… Fuuka… I don't really want to let her know about this, but… where is she?_

"Man… that's messed up," Yosuke said to everyone as he lifted his head from his food.

_I guess he can do two things at once…_

"Uhh… Mitsuru-senpai?" Souji asked, "Do you think you can check on Fuuka?" He was not going up to the third floor."

Mitsuru nodded, "Of course…"

Yosuke looked up from his food and winked at Souji; he had to resist the urge to get off the couch and whack his fluffy-haired friend on the head for being a teasing ass. Regardless of his teasing, Souji warned Yosuke, "Don't mention what you saw on TV to Fuuka, alright? I don't want her worrying."

Yosuke nodded in agreement, "Okay… I gotcha…"

A minute or so later, Fuuka came downstairs while she wiped her eyes. Mitsuru followed closely behind. The President of the Student Council hurried off after that, saying that she had an early morning meeting to attend. Souji waved off Fuuka's apology as he stood up. Souji knew why Fuuka was so tired and it was his fault. However…

"Yosuke… I'm heading to school in a few, are you coming?" Souji checked his watch and saw that the time before homeroom was not too far away. They would need to leave in a few minutes.

"Alright, alright…," Yosuke replied as he finally put down his plate, stood up, and pushed the chair in.

Souji did not want to leave Fuuka behind, but it looked like she was nowhere near ready. The silver-haired young man grabbed his bag that was by the far couch and slung it over his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, Souji saw Fuuka hurrying to get ready; Souji sighed in response. He motioned for Yosuke and Chie to slow down a little so the green-haired girl could finish getting ready and leave with them. If they were late… they would be late, or Souji would just run.

Yosuke had opened the door and was waiting for Souji and Fuuka. Souji walked to the archway and had Fuuka following behind him. When they finally left; it was at a much faster pace than normal. Souji had remembered his lunch this time, but it was much less impressive than usual; it was the fact that Fuuka was not present when Souji came downstairs. He guessed that because Mitsuru prepared it instead that there was less… care put into it.

_I wonder what Mitsuru put in my lunch?_

The one thing pace-wise that Souji, Yosuke, and Fuuka could not control was the shuttle. As the three waited till they neared the stop to bring them to Gekkoukan, Souji chatted up Yosuke on something he had forgotten to ask earlier, "So, Yosuke… did you ever get Risette's autograph?"

Yosuke, who sat to the right of Souji, had an expression of great disappointment at Souji's question. It was something that Souji had not seen all morning, as if he had been hiding it until this exact moment. Yosuke finally shook his head and said, "She never came out to sign autographs…"

_How unlike her?_

"Well… maybe Risette was finally so tired of being that personality and she wanted to shed that persona as fast as she could," Souji shrugged, "She was probably just too sick of having to do every single thing like sign multitudes of autographs."

"Maybe…," Yosuke muttered but did not look that much better.

"Well… how was it up there?" Souji asked.

Yosuke's mood brightened somewhat at Souji's question as he smiled, "It was amazing! Her long legs… those eyes… that perfect smile… those perfect b… Oww! Dammit!"

Yosuke's head had a lump on it due to Chie's fist coming down at an unseen speed. Yosuke cursed under his breath and it continued for a few seconds… until Yosuke started yelling at Chie about being hit. Chie yelled back about being perverted and then hit him again.

_He deserved it… but I have to admit… even I am a little jealous. I bet I would have been a little more nervous than he was during that whole song._

It was not a long shuttle ride, but after Chie and Yosuke's fight it was rather quiet until the girl to Souji's left suddenly spoke up in a meek voice with her face tinged in red, "Umm… Souji-san…"

Souji turned his head to the left to where Fuuka was sitting and said, "Hmm…?"

Fuuka seemed to be become even more nervous. She finally choked out what she needed to say, "I… I… wanted to know… if… y… you wanted to… if you wanted to go out after school… to get coffee with me?"

Chie and Yosuke turned their heads at Fuuka's stuttering and waited to hear Souji's answer. However, it was Souji's turn to be nervous. He had already agreed to meet Aigis after school and practice magic with her near the harbor. How could he turn Fuuka down? How could he turn Fuuka down… gently?

Souji certainly looked ashamed as he said, "Today…? I promised to go with a friend to the movies after school... well… tonight."

"Ohh…," Fuuka's face showed an expression that was beyond disappointment. She dropped her eyes and head as she said, "Maybe later then…"

Fuuka was not the only face that showed disappointment in Souji's direction. Chie and Yosuke were not fighting for once as they looked disappointed; they looked disappointed in Souji's actions.

_Shit… But… should I have canceled my plans with Aigis? My first chance to learn proper magic in… forever?_

Souji left the shuttle by himself as Chie and Yosuke left before the silver-haired young man could get off and Fuuka was still sitting in her seat when Souji got off. He turned his head to look at her face for a second before he left; he really had disappointed her, yet again.

Souji's walk to Gekkoukan from the shuttle was somewhat lonely. It was a long path to the massive marble-esque building and it gave even more time for Souji to contemplate what he had done to Fuuka. He was not sure what more he could do to hurt her. It was then he noticed the huge crowd forming around the entrance of the high school with a few people trying to fight their way through.

There were about twenty males gathered around the middle of the three entrances to the high school. One of the males at the back of the group was Junpei Iori, so Souji went to where the baseball cap-wearing student was to ask him what was going on.

Souji tapped Junpei on the back and when Junpei turned around; Souji asked, "What's going on?"

"Nothing really…," Junpei muttered, not really paying attention to Souji, "Just a clog of people trying to get into the school."

_Whatever…_

Souji ignored the mass of people and entered at the left doorway; it was the one closest to his shoeboxes. He was sick of drama and the less of it… the better. He changed his shoes and headed up the stairs to the second floor and then to classroom 2-F. The classroom was bustling as usual, but there was a lot of gossiping going around.

"I heard that there is a new transfer student in this school..."

"A guy or a girl?"

"I hope it's a girl…"

"You just want someone else to hit on…"

Souji shook his head, but he did not take his seat quite yet. He had no idea why a transfer student that was not even coming to this class was even being discussed, or how it reached their ears to put in a better perspective. Instead, he looked for the girl that might have screwed up his friendship. As usual, Aigis stood by herself in the corner, ignoring all of the conversation around her. Souji had no idea whether she even noticed any of the things said about her, including all of the rumors involving her and Souji.

Souji watched a few of the people he knew trickle into his classroom. A minute later, Miss Toriumi entered as well and announced that the class would be changing seats today. Souji ended up at the back of the classroom, at the left corner. Fortunately, Yosuke was still in front of him. However, the person that sat to the right of Souji was Aigis.

_Awkward…_

Souji was not sure how Aigis took/liked the arrangement. She seemed rather uninterested when Souji glanced her way. When Souji turned back for the start of classroom, Yosuke was facing him. Yosuke's expression was one of who seemed to have forgotten about the transgression on the shuttle, or he had at least forgiven Souji's actions towards Fuuka.

"Souji… you'll never guess what happened," Yosuke whispered so to not alert the English Literature teacher who was taking attendance.

"What happened?" Souji responded.

"There is a new transfer student…," Yosuke said in a hushed tone.

"Well… I know that," Souji nodded, "I learned that from everyone talking about it in class."

"Well… the transfer student is Risette," Yosuke winked when he said 'Risette'.

_Did he just say Risette?_ _I heard Rise Kujikawa was going to live a normal life from now on, but moving here? If she wanted a normal life, why not move to some secluded place like Inaba? That's like the boonies… she'll get mobbed here._

Yosuke added another statement, "I'm going to try and see her during lunchtime. I'm going to the first-years classrooms to see if I can get a peek. You know… I have an advantage and all…"

_Good luck fighting the rest of the boys in the school who want to see her, including those who already have girlfriends. _

Souji wanted to say something else, but before he could get a word in, Miss Toriumi yelled at Yosuke, "Hanamura-san! Do you have something important to share with the rest of the class!"

"No, Toriumi-sensei…," Yosuke responded meekly as he turned back around in a hurry.

Most of the class chuckled at the exchange, including Chie, who was sitting at the other side of the room. Two years straight, Chie was in the same homeroom with both Souji and Yosuke. Many times, the homeroom teachers had to start classes by breaking up scuffles between Yosuke and Chie resulting in laughs all around.

With the morning classes as exciting as usual, Souji held out hope that Mitsuru's lunch would be as enjoyable. At least it would be better than anything he could make; he was a terrible cook. Souji considered himself almost as bad as Fuuka at the beginning of the semester; his food was barely edible. So, when the morning classes ended, most of the class either broke into gossip, or in the case of many of the boys… a majority of them left to try and see if Rise was in her classroom for lunch.

_I want to keep my limbs…_

He really did not think he would even get a chance to see her if Rise… or Risette had in fact transferred to Gekkoukan. Just like at the concert, Souji had no wish of fighting anywhere from twenty to one-hundred people to see her, so he stood up and left 2-F with the lunch Mitsuru had made for him.

Souji was not really sure where he was going, but his feet took him away from 2-E. For some reason, he did not want to see Fuuka. It might be the fact that Souji believed that Fuuka might still be disappointed or even mad at him, so he was walking away from the second floor. Instead, Souji moved away from the classrooms and found himself on the roof for lunch. As he sat down on the bench and untied the red cloth to open the bento, he finally felt at peace, at least long enough to consume his lunch.

_If only my arm would stop hurting…_

Souji had not mentioned it to anyone, but his left arm had been throbbing all through the morning classes. It had started right after the bell rang at the end of the homeroom. The pain was nothing like it was right before he went to bed last night, but it was still a distraction. Souji bit his lip and looked at the food Mitsuru had prepared. It looked more elegant than anything Fuuka had ever made for him, edible or inedible, but… there was no way it could ever taste better. It was probably because Fuuka put more care and time into making Souji's food. It was for that reason that Souji disliked hurting her.

He still had half of his lunchtime by the time he had finished his food; it was why many people spent so much time conversing with their friends during the break. Since Souji had eaten alone, he had plenty of time left over to think about anything...

His eyebrows rose at the sound of the door of the roof open quickly and then close at the same speed. Another person had come onto the roof, but unless it was Junpei; he did not really care. If it was Junpei, he was too annoying to ignore. However, the slight annoyance of someone breaking his solitude on the roof was turned into something indescribable when a girl with a high-pitched yet very recognizable voice asked, "Umm… can I sit here?"

Souji looked up and saw none other than Rise Kujikawa standing in front of him. The sight of Rise Kujikawa clad in a short Gekkoukan skirt and white blouse was actually much more stunning than the revealing outfit she wore last night. Souji believed he finally understood some peoples' obsession with girls in a high school uniform, even if those people were usually three times his age. Rise was beyond adorable with her hair in the same style as last night, with the twin pigtails, and just the right amount of makeup.

Souji barely kept his composure when he said, "Of course…"

Rise gave a little giggle and said, "Thanks…" As she sat down, she smoothed out her skirt and said, "There's no need to be nervous… Last time I checked, I don't bite."

"Generally… when you say that; it only makes things worse," Souji shook his head.

She had a small lunch wrapped up in pink cloth and started eating right next to Souji. In-between one of her tempura, she looked at Souji's empty box and asked, "Did a girl make that for you?"

Souji nodded, "You can say that…"

"Your girlfriend?" Rise giggled before taking another bite.

"No… she's just a senpai who helps us out at the dorm I live at," Souji explained.

Rise smirked, "You live in a co-ed dorm? Uh oh…"

"It's not what you think…," Souji shook his head, "The guys live on one floor and the girls live on the other. The senpai I told you about would kill us if any of us tried anything."

"Aww…," Rise frowned, "That's no fun…" Rise placed her chopsticks in the box as she asked, "So… are you dating someone?"

_What's with the interrogation?_

Souji shrugged, "Nope…"

Rise bit her lip before asking, "You live in a co-ed dorm and you are not dating anyone?" Rise winked, "By the way… I saw you last night."

Souji shook his head, "My friend invited me… The one you took up on stage for that song…" Souji tried to change the subject, "By the way, did you come up here to try and escape the throng of people?"

Rise nodded, "You caught me…" She frowned, "I just… don't want to be Risette right now."

Souji said in response, "I understand… well, I can't truly relate."

"Honest and respectful…," Rise smiled, "Exactly what I want in a guy…"

Souji could not help but redden a little; it made Rise chuckle a little. Souji did not know what to say at that.

"Hmm…," Rise closed her eyes, "Well… since you aren't dating anyone… you can walk me home! It will save me the trouble of hiding or running"

_What! Aigis… now Risette? I am going to get flayed alive. Fuuka is actually kind of popular, too. God help me… Again, what can I say? Aigis asked me to meet her first…_

"Well… I promised to meet someone by the movies tonight," Souji lowered his head somewhat as he answered Rise.

"Boy or girl…?" Rise asked.

Souji was not going to lie; he preferred to be honest. He told Rise, "Girl…"

Rise winked, "You told me you were not dating anyone… Or is it that you told me you were not dating anyone in your dorm?"

"No… it's not a date…," Souji bit his lip yet again. He added quickly, "They are sort of special lessons." Souji immediately regretted his last phrase.

Rise laughed at that statement, "Okay… okay…" She put her arms behind her head and moved her shoulders back for a second as she asked, "Why don't you just walk me back halfway? To Paulownia Mall? You'd make it to your 'special lessons' in time, right?"

Rise was right, and Souji knew it. He felt like he should do this for her, only for the reason it was something he could do. It would start a hell of a lot more rumors.

_What didn't start rumors these days?_

"I guess I'll meet you at the school gates then…," Souji said reluctantly.

Rise's grin was huge, "Thanks… umm…?"

"Souji… Souji Seta…," Souji said.

Rise stood up and flattened her skirt again, "Rise… Rise Kujikawa." As if for some reason Souji did not know who she was.

He took a look at his watch. It was almost time to return to the classroom. Rise would most certainly be late since she needed to fight through boys.

"See you later, Souji-kun!" Rise sounded bubbly.

Souji nodded, "You too, Rise-chan…" It sounded natural too call her that.

Oddly, Rise did not leave when Souji opened the door that would lead him back down towards his classroom. He also found a lack of boys waiting to mob her disturbing. Back at the roof, Rise muttered with no hint of happiness, "Should I do something while we're walking together? This is no game to me."

Souji's left arm felt a little better after he had spent his lunchtime with Rise. The best part… no one seemed to know that Rise had spent her lunchtime with Souji. That meant Souji would be safe at least until the end of the day. How he would pull Rise away from the mob and how would he survive the next day were the worries on Souji's mind. She had managed to find a solution for working out a plan for both her and Aigis to get what they wanted, and the consequences might not be in Souji's favor. The good news was that he would spend a small amount of time with two pretty girls. The bad news being that he would probably be killed by boys the next day.

_If… no… When Fuuka sees this… _

At least the afternoon classes were as dull as the morning ones. It was the first time he wanted time to drag on. When the bell rang, Aigis had moved out of her chair and out of the classroom as fast as Souji had ever seen her move, resulting in a remark from Yosuke about how Souji must be upset at him. However, Souji believed Aigis had to set up for the lesson or something. Overall, Souji paid no mind to what Aigis was doing; he knew whatever she was doing was for tonight. She would not forget his lesson, or she would not have grades that rivaled Souji's.

A few seconds later, Souji stood up, remembering his own mission. He had a rescue mission to perform, and the target was Rise Kujikawa. Before he could get out the door, Yosuke told him, "I have to see her this time… I couldn't find her at lunch, but I'll talk to her this time."

_Good luck… but it isn't happening._

Souji had to hurry, only for the fact that Yosuke had rushed out of the room at a much faster pace than the silver-haired second-year. Souji knew he would have a lot of people besides Yosuke to deal with as well. Souji also knew that he would look like a Rise-chaser, but he increased his pace to at least be able extract Rise before anything bad happened. The 'Risette Fan Club of Tatsumi Port Island- Gekkoukan Chapter' would not get their hands on her.

As Souji rushed down the stairs, there was another crowd gathered around the middle section of the shoeboxes. Junpei was lying; the crowd in the morning was mobbing Rise.

_Bastards… Junpei is such a dick._

Souji could not rush into the middle of the mob and expect to grab Rise without getting killed. Instead, he moved to his own shoebox and changed his shoes as fast as possible. Over the rabble and large amount of noise being produced by about fifteen to twenty people; Souji yelled from the divider, "Rise-chan!"

"Souji-kun!" Rise yelled back.

The effect was instantaneous as almost everyone in the rabble suddenly stopped moving and talking as Rise had actually responded to someone's exclamation. Souji moved around the front of the divider. As the group of fans and the rest of the mob saw who had called out to Rise, they split into two sides. The looks that were in Souji's direction were a mix of jealousy and pure malice. Souji called out again, but in a softer voice this time around, "Rise-chan…"

"Souji-kun… Are you ready to go?" Rise, with no one around her trying to get an autograph or 'anything else' from her, finally started putting on the shoes she had came into school with.

"Yeah…," Souji nodded, waiting patiently for Rise.

When Rise finished changing her shoes, she picked up her bag, which probably had a multitude of love notes inside it now, and went to Souji's side. Souji ignored the looks and took off with Rise by his right side, knowing that he was probably going to die tomorrow.

It was odd… having Rise Kujikawa walking next to him, drawing looks as they moved down the long path. Souji had no clue what to say, or if he should say anything at all. All he knew was that he was at least pretending to be Rise's boy toy for at least one day. She would probably move on to someone else tomorrow, forgetting Souji ever existed. It would probably be for the best, too; he might survive if Souji did not stick around Rise's side.

At the actual gate to the edge of Gekkoukan High; it marked the entrance and exit, Souji ran into Junpei. The boy with the backwards baseball cap, and self-proclaimed rival of Souji, looked up and down at him when he saw Rise next to him. He must have thought it was some random coincidence because he was going to say something, but Rise grabbed Souji's hand, locking her left hand within Souji's right before Junpei could say anything. The now ex-idol winked before walking straight past Junpei with Souji in tow.

_Let's make it worse, shall we? Yosuke, Junpei… Who knows… maybe Fuuka saw it as well?_

Souji thought that Rise was going to release Souji's hand after they had left Junpei behind, but that was not the case. She did not let go; it was for a reason Souji had no answer for. Only when they neared Paulownia Mall did Rise actually say anything to him. She kept her head forward as she said in a somewhat serious voice, "I want to thank you. I know I'm using you, but… I can't tell you how necessary this was."

Souji nodded even though Rise could not really see his motion. He responded, "I just thought I would help."

"You're going to be in trouble…," Rise said in that same voice.

Souji closed his eyes for a moment, "I knew that when I said that I would help you."

Rise sighed, "That's not what I'm talking about…"

Souji turned his head. He wanted to ask what Rise was talking about, but before he had a chance to ask; the two of them reached the 'Power Records' store. Rise had already released her grip on Souji's hand; he guessed it was just in case anyone else had been watching.

_What the hell was she talking about? This danger stuff… Does she know I'm a magician?_

Souji faced Rise as he prepared to leave her behind; he had to go to the literal 'port' of Port Island to see Aigis. She was heading to wherever she lived. It could be the last time Souji saw her, and there was a small bit of him that was actually disappointed that this incredibly pretty girl would be leaving his side. He started to turn, but before he could; he was stopped by Rise.

"I don't even get a proper goodbye…?" Rise frowned.

"Oh… I forgot… Goodbye, Rise-chan," Souji gave a soft smile.

"Thank you again…," Rise did the same, but afterwards she stood up on her tip-toes and brushed up against Souji's right cheek; it made Souji blush for the first time since he left Inaba.

_What the f…?_

Souji left not only a little confused, but a little dazed as well. He had a bit of a walk ahead of him and a lot of contemplation to do. He was going to try and forget his stroll with Rise, but now… he had nothing but Rise on his mind.

Back in the middle of Paulownia Mall, Rise stood silently.

Eventually, Rise whispered, "I really hope… I really hope that I don't have to kill you tonight."

As Souji took the opposite stairs from Iwatodai Station that would lead him to where Aigis was supposed to meet him; his mind was on anything but magic. His mind was focused on a young red-haired first-year for whom he had sacrificed any shred of his remaining popularity to walk halfway back to wherever she was living. He had accepted that part, but he would have been fine if only… if only her lips had not faintly touched his cheek. Not even in that song did she do that to the person she chose. It bugged him way more than it should have, but… it was really driving him crazy.

Souji shook his head as he looked about the area below the steps to the cinema. It was rather abandoned even though the sun had not quite yet disappeared completely. There were usually a few people still around, going to the movies… especially on a Saturday evening. Since, Souji did not see Aigis either, he moved to the bench in the middle of the area, parallel to the flower shop. As he was about to sit on the bench, someone called out to him, "Souji-san…"

The voice was calm and collected, yet rather monotone. However, the feminine edge of it could only belong to Aigis. Souji turned to the place where he heard the voice and was completely shocked by what he saw.

In front of the cinema stood Aigis, but the blond-haired second-year was not wearing her Gekkoukan uniform. Instead, Aigis was dressed in what appeared to be very tight-fitting pants and a very tight long-sleeved shirt that went up to her neck; they were both white and almost appeared to be armor. The only two things that remained of her school uniform were her red ribbon and the golden headband, and the only thing that was uncovered was her head and her ungloved hands. All of her clothes seemed to accentuate her curves; it was a bit much for Souji to take in, considering the school uniform was not as flattering as this.

"Souji-san… Please come here…," Aigis called out again.

Souji blinked a few times to make sure this was really Aigis before he made his way over to where his prospective teacher was standing. As he neared the girl, the radiant blue eyes confirmed that she was really Aigis; this sight was making it better… or maybe worse for Souji.

"Aigis-sensei…," Souji changed his tone, considering she would be teaching him from now on.

Aigis shook her head, as she replied, "That's not necessary…"

Souji had moved to about a meter away from Aigis. He did his best to keep his eyes on Aigis's face, but that would mean getting lost in her blue pools. However, if his eyes drifted down…

"Souji-san… Come closer…," Aigis said to him as Souji struggled to keep his face from drifting.

Souji did his best to nod without looking and walked straight up to her until they were almost touching; Souji made sure they did not. Aigis pulled on her ribbon until it came undone and held it in front of Souji. She said to him, "I want you to use the technique you used at the game… Use it on the ribbon while I move it back and forth… I want you to grab the ribbon from my hand."

Souji nodded, "Okay… I can do that…"

For a moment, Souji closed his eyes and focused on the ribbon with his eyes closed. All he needed to do was slow the ribbon down so he could take it from Aigis.

"Siehe Ungehemmter…" (To see… uninhibited)

Souji opened his eyes, and instead of seeing the red ribbon moving at a speed where it was nearly at a snail's pace; Souji saw Aigis's enchanting blue eyes. He tried to move away, tried to find the ribbon, but… he could not even drift away to look somewhere that would make him blush. He was trapped by Aigis's gaze.

Aigis suddenly said in the same monotone voice, "I can't trust you, Souji-san… I don't know if you are a Master or not. You might be a pretty bad magician, but regardless, you might still have a Servant on your side."

_Master? Servant?_ _What am I missing here? Why the hell can't I… Why the hell can't I look away?_

Aigis touched his right arm; the one that she had touched yesterday. All of the pain that had been bothering Souji since last night released all at once. For the first time since his arm started hurting, Souji yelled out in pain. Aigis responded to Souji's cry of pain as she said, "See… you are a Master… Now… call out your Servant!"

Souji bit his lip; it was one of the few things he still had control of. He bit it so hard that it began to bleed. He had to respond to Aigis as he tried his best to ignore the pain, "I have no clue… what the hell a Servant is!"

Aigis said nothing but a single word, "Assassin…"

Souji's eyes widened when from out of nowhere appeared a very tall man dressed in red samurai armor, wielding two long blades that were sheathed. His hair was black, but it was barely visible underneath the slender kabuto that was unlike many others in how it slid back and protected only the top of his head.

_Was he invisible? Where did he come from? Was he here this whole time? Assassin? Is she going to kill me?_

Aigis said only a few more words, "I will give you one last chance to summon a Servant and end this charade before Assassin slits your throat. The only comfort from this is that even if I let you use your spell on his blades; you still would not be able to see them coming."

This "Assassin' said to Aigis, "May I end his life now? You would not have asked me to come if you did not have the intention to kill him."

Aigis responded, "It does not appear that he will summon a Servant. You may end his life…"

_God… why did I not bring my baseball bat?_

Souji tried to close his eyes, even though he knew he could not. He heard the unsheathing of this 'Assassin's' sword. Souji guessed he could start making peace with God… though, the whole becoming a magician and all probably would not go down very well with him.

There were always people who wanted to die of something crazy and disturbing, involving sex or partying. However, Souji just wanted to die from living a long and happy life. The way he did not want to go was being killed by a crazy, invisible samurai-looking dude. Souji could not see the blade coming, but he felt the warmth of something else surrounding him. It was a red spherical shield. It was that warmth that suddenly let Souji move as he heard the words from the steps above, "Niemand Wird Verletzt! Schützen Mein Herz!" (No one shall hurt! Protect my heart!)

Souji moved away slightly, but Assassin, or whoever he was, started cracking into the spherical bubble. He heard the same voice yell, "You have to run! It won't hold for long!"

Souji took that advice and started running. Luckily, the shield moved with him… but so did Assassin, waiting to strike him. Souji knew he was in trouble, so the person who was on the steps called out one more time, "Lancer!"

Both Assassin and Souji stopped when they heard 'Lancer!'. Souji stopped because he finally recognized the voice, and Assassin stopped because who appeared at the call. Souji had not recognized the voice at first because of the radical change in tone and inflection. The person who had been yelling was none other than Rise Kujikawa, still dressed in a Gekkoukan uniform standing with her feet apart and her arm outstretched.

Meanwhile, Aigis stood motionless, she watched as someone else flew towards her Assassin. This 'Lancer' had blond hair that came down to the nape of his neck and was dressed in silver, almost knight-like armor. He had a long spear in his right arm and a very large triangular shield on his back. When the two Servants made contact; it pushed the fight away from Souji, keeping him safe for the moment.

Souji only guessed that Lancer was another Servant person who was fighting Assassin. Lancer was Rise's Servant and Assassin was Aigis's Servant. Souji was just a guy caught in the middle of this battle, so he should try and leave.

Lancer had flown straight at Assassin with his spear extended, only to miss his target. He swung his weapon over his head and came down to his side, locking his haft to Assassin's own blade. Lancer pushed off from Assassin's sleek weapon and charged again, only to have Assassin parry the blow and attempt a vertical strike that nearly cut Lancer in half. Instead of being split in half, Assassin's attack was blocked by Lancer's left arm; it only caused a minor cut instead.

Lancer jumped back after Assassin pulled his sword free. Lancer said to Assassin, "It's been a while since I fought someone like you."

"I will take that as a compliment," Assassin responded. He questioned Lancer, "Why are you protecting that boy? I was sent to kill him…"

Assassin pointed at Souji and Lancer glanced over at the silver-haired boy who Assassin had nearly gored, "It was my Master's wishes… Unless he turns out to be a Master himself…"

"However, he has seen us…," Assassin explained, "Especially me…"

"Yes… I know," Lancer replied.

The chat ended at that and the two began again.

Meanwhile, Souji moved towards Rise at the top of the stairs, but when he tried to move past her, the girl put out her palm and said, "I warned you…"

"But…," Souji stuttered.

"Nothing good can come of you seeing this," Rise said, "This girl…" She motioned to Aigis. She continued again, "She tried to kill you because she thought you were involved, and now… you are involved, even if it is indirectly."

"I don't even know what is going on here!" Souji yelled.

When Souji finished his sentence, he was pushed to the ground by Rise as another shield was erected by the ex-idol. Aigis had come up from behind, and in her soft and monotone voice, muttered, "Flammen der Hölle… Fliegen Wahr!" (Flames of Hell! Fly True!) The shield barely held as what appeared to be an endless barrage of bullets made of fire shot from Aigis's fingertips.

The fire did not crack the spherical shield, but it slowly made headway into it. Rise struggled to keep the shield up and Souji could do nothing but hide inside it. It was when the fire knocked Souji out of the sphere and down the stairs did Aigis stop firing her flame bullets. He yelled out in pain as he tumbled down each step, landing only a few meters from Aigis. Souji had trouble standing up.

She called out to Rise in the same monotone voice, her fingers smoking from all of the fire shot from her fingertips, "Why did you bother protecting him?"

"Why are you attacking him?" Rise responded.

"Don't question what I am being told to do… It is… what I have been ordered," Aigis said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Orders!" Rise exclaimed, "What are you! Some puppet!"

It appeared Aigis had overcome her moment of weakness as she called out from behind her, "Assassin! Come and kill him!"

Assassin was still in a duel with Lancer when he heard Aigis's voice. He had inflicted two more small wounds on Lancer in the form of a cut right through the right greave and another on his right shoulder. When Assassin was beckoned, Assassin dodged a thrust from Lancer and took off towards Souji, leaving Rise's Servant behind.

Rise called out for Lancer, secretly knowing that he would not reach Souji in time. She did not want to kill Souji, it only be if he was the one attacking other people. It appeared her target had been this blond-haired girl all along. Now, Souji would die because she was inept at fighting with Lancer.

Souji was still on the ground, only a meter or two from Aigis. He would not be able to escape this time… not with these injuries. He could not walk with a broken leg. Souji wanted to try something before he died. He took his right hand and rubbed it against his scalp, allowing him to write in his own blood. With the blood fresh on his right hand, he drew a pentagram on the ground and started to write a few symbols he had not been able to translate due to the lack of a real teacher. He knew Assassin was close, so he took his left hand, which was still throbbing tremendously; he placed it on the pentagram.

"Souji-kun!" Rise yelled.

Souji wanted to know why Rise had yelled, but Souji knew almost immediately as white light surrounded him. He pushed himself out of the way as even Aigis backed up at the sight of the light. There were shimmers of blue and white as a beautiful lady about a few years older than Souji started to appear from the light. She was wearing a beautiful cream-colored dress that came down to her ankles, but in her right hand was a mix between a sword and a spear. In her other hand was what looked like a circular shield…

Souji was speechless at the sight of yet another pretty woman. Rise, however, said in a soft voice, "Saber…"

* * *

><p>Not all chapters will be as long as this one... if anyone is not really familiar with Persona and has trouble figuring out what's what, just ask. I know I spent an inordinate amount of time focusing on Souji this chapter, but… it was because I was protecting that badly kept secret from you. Well, Auf Wiedersehen<p> 


	2. Chapter 2 The Servant's First Opponent

_**Chapter 2**_

_**The Servant's First Opponent and His Noble Phantasm**_

_Thoughts_

I own nothing but my lack of creativity. I do not own anything to do with Fate/anything or Persona.

It's Souji mainly because Golden is not out and Ultimate is not out. Besides, Souji has been added to my spell check. I use first names because… I am writing in English for this story. If you want Japanese, I am not in the mood today or tomorrow. I will, however, use –san and –chan and whatever else if it refers to the Persona characters because this is Tatsumi Port Island (P3 world). I will go with how the games use the names.

Servants will be 'Personas' and the Personas will not match up to the Personas in their respective games. If I said this would not be just a little AU on personalities on the Masters and locations, I would have you send me to the nearest mental institution. If I don't take other liberties with a few things, not gender, but slight variations on weapons and appearances… I would still be struggling on what Servants would be what. They have to be humanoid, yes? Yes, girl servants will have boy masters and vice-versa.

I will use my skills in German and then bastardize it for the spells.

Relationships? Haven't decided on it…

* * *

><p><strong>A Few Moments before the Present by the Cinema<strong>

Souji was speechless at the sight of yet another pretty woman. Rise, however, said in a soft voice, "Saber…"

The woman had appeared at Souji's attempt to make one last valiant attempt to cast some sort of spell to protect himself from the samurai-looking man only known as Assassin. Souji had been led astray by his classmate, a quiet, yet beautiful young girl with short blond hair and dressed in nearly skin-tight white shirt and pants. His classmate, Aigis, had frozen him in his tracks with her deep pools that were her blue eyes and would have been killed much earlier if he had not been saved by the appearance of the former idol, Rise Kujikawa and her apparent Servant named Lancer. Lancer, a spear-wielding knight decked out in shimmering armor engaged Assassin while Souji escaped to Rise, only to have Aigis follow. Aigis had attacked Rise and Souji with fire, and though the red-haired ex-idol put up a spherical shield for defense; Souji was thrown out of the shield by the repeated magic. He had tumbled down the stairs leading down Iwatodai Station towards the cinema where had met Aigis; the resulting collision with the ground broke his right leg. The injury had inhibited his ability to get away and Aigis called out for Assassin to finish the job. Assassin had held off Lancer easily in their duel and sped away from Rise's Servant at Aigis's yell. Souji's knowledge of his impediment doom had forced him to draw a foreign pentagram with unknown symbols with his own blood.

As the silver-haired second-year had placed his left arm onto the bloody circle, an elegant yet slightly armor-clad woman had appeared, wearing a golden helmet that covered half of her head and golden bracers. In her hands was a circular shield that was slightly smaller than the triangular one that was still on Lancer's back and a blade that was a mix between a sword and a spear. Souji had been left speechless by 'Saber's' appearance.

* * *

><p><strong>Present<strong>

All of the shimmering blue and white light surrounding the new Servant had disappeared a few seconds after Rise had named her 'Saber'. Aigis had stepped back at the sight of the new Servant, but Assassin had held firm… even during the summoning process. Souji only moved about a meter away from the summoning circle and Aigis when Saber was summoned; it was because Souji's leg was broken. When the light disappeared, Souji finally got a clear... a defined look at Saber.

_Rise said Saber… is she supposed to be my Servant or something?_

When Souji gazed upon his Servant clearly, he saw just how beautiful she was. The long shimmering black hair that flowed through Saber's golden half helmet was not the only thing that defined Saber's face. Souji's Servant had beautiful eyes… large brown eyes. Her glistening cream-colored dress was defined by inlaid gold bracers; the intricacies of the bracers that went through her middle fingers were beyond elegant. The bronze spear/sword was engraved with golden designs as well, not to mention the repeating circular designs on the circular shield made of bronze.

_Why are all the girls so pretty?_ _Well… this one has a weapon, but… Aigis shot fire at me._

As Souji stared at Saber, Saber turned her attention to Souji.

Souji was still a bit in shock of her appearance as he asked the young woman, "Who are you? Are you this… Saber?"

The woman who seemed to be only a few years older than Souji responded in a regal tone, "I am Saber and my only purpose is to protect you…"

"Protect me…?" Souji looked confused.

As Souji finished his statement… his left arm, which had finally stopped hurting, suddenly felt like it was on fire. As he looked at his arm, he saw three intertwining gray tattoo-like symbols were engraved into Souji's arm. It bewildered Souji because he had no idea what these symbols were.

"Protect you…," Saber reiterated, "It is my duty to keep you safe from all dangers…"

_I really don't get it…_

As Souji was trying to understand what had just happened, Aigis focused her attention back to her Servant, Assassin, and said calmly, "It appears that he does have a Servant after all."

"Do you want me to take care of her?" Assassin asked

"It's the only way to get to the Master…," Aigis explained in her flat tone, "He can't defend himself."

Assassin nodded as he said, "I will take care of the Servant and then I will take care of the Master."

Aigis stepped back as samurai-like Assassin stood right in front of newly appeared Saber. Meanwhile, Rise was approached by her own Servant; the spear-wielding guardian with silver-esque armor with slight nicks and cuts from fighting Assassin had arrived right after Saber was summoned. Rise's Servant, Lancer, asked the ex-idol, "What do you want to do about this? Are we fighting Assassin… or Saber?"

"We will wait and see…," Rise answered, "If Saber loses…"

In reality, Rise was relieved that Souji had a way to defend himself… at least indirectly. She just felt worried about something; it was the fact that she was worried about Souji's skill in magic. Rise was worried that Saber was an incomplete summon and therefore incredibly underpowered against enemies like this white-clothed girl's Assassin or even her Lancer.

Assassin took another step towards Saber, brandishing his long and thin blade that was so effective against Rise's Servant. Saber was beyond wary of Assassin's approach, so she threw her combination weapon onto her back and picked up Souji. Souji's eyes widened at being lifted by a young woman who was obviously lighter than him and carried up the stairs to where Rise was.

_What…?_

Rise looked just as surprised, almost appalled, as Saber all but forced Rise to support Souji under her shoulder so he would not put pressure on his broken right leg. Saber told Rise, "Take care of him… if the battle gets out of hand… leave this space. You know what I am talking about…" Rise nodded, but Saber added in a less regal, more threatening tone, "If either you or your Servant harms my Master…"

Souji had no idea what Saber was talking about when she said run away if the 'battle gets out of hand'. When Souji asked Rise, the red-haired girl whispered, "You might see…"

By the time Rise had finished the statement, the fight had started between Saber and Assassin. Assassin had pulled the pole-arm from behind her back and charged Assassin. Saber drove the strike from starting from below and rising her blade; she attempted to cleave Assassin in half. However, Assassin parried easily with a quick horizontal strike to the left. Aigis's Servant followed with another horizontal strike in the opposite direction, going from the opposite direction. This strike was so fast that Saber was forced to throw her circular shield in the way to deflect the blow. The slash was deflected, driving Assassin's blade up slightly and making a gash into the bracer. Saber used the slight deflection of the blade from her shield to lift the blade with the extended handle. However, it was only with one hand because her left hand was focused on blocking Assassin. Saber still made an attempt to thrust her weapon into Assassin's neck. When the tip of Saber's weapon reached where Assassin was; he was no longer there. As Saber deduced that Assassin was behind her; she had been cut in the back by Assassin's blade. The Servant staggered a little with the blood splattering from her back.

Even before the blood hit the ground, Lancer knew what the issue was; he explained the problem to his Master. He turned to Rise with his longer blond hair and said, "It's just like me. Assassin is just too fast for either of us."

Saber had turned around. Souji's protector went straight back to attempting to cut into Assassin and failing again and again. Rise responded, "How about if either of you used it? Could you defeat him?" She still had Souji on her shoulder, which annoyed her to no end. As much as Rise did not want to him to get hurt… she did not to be the one Souji had to rely on.

"If we were able to hit him…," Lancer answered, "But… if he used his…"

"I think I understand…," Rise pursed her lips. She continued, "In that case… Be ready to run away, Lancer. Remember… you're injured…"

"Understood," Lancer nodded.

Never in… well it was not a wildest dream, it was just it did not seem realistic that Souji was underneath Rise Kujikawa's arm as he watched a beautiful woman with a long-bladed weapon that almost looked like a naginata fight against someone who looked like a samurai. Souji did not even mention that on the other side of Rise was a tall blond-haired man who had a spear and shield of his own, or that the one he was truly fighting against was the person he sat next to in class. Apparently, everything had to do with some sort of magic

_I think I'm checking myself into a mental institution tomorrow._

Saber's every slash and thrust was countered by the Assassin. His blade parried every strike and allowed him to counter with his own strikes. Assassin struck again and again, but only nicked Saber in the right shoulder. The longer the fight dragged on, the less Saber moved to strike and defend herself as she made short and concise strikes to try and hit Assassin. With every diagonal strike and thrust, Saber closed the gap on how close she was from hitting the samurai-esque Servant. The frustration on Assassin's face was not shown, but was displayed in his body language; it was evident in a few of his horizontal strikes that went far too wide and nearly gave Saber a chance to jump in and slash from top to bottom.

After another minute of futile attacks from both sides, Assassin jumped back to dodge a thrust from Saber. He dodged it, but only by a few centimeters. He was slowing down and Saber knew that.

Assassin held his blade out diagonally to the side. He asked, "Was this your plan all along? To try and tire me out?"

Saber was clearly not as winded as her opponent as she answered, "I can not match your speed. My best chance for victory would be to minimize movement and use my attacks to force you to move at your high speeds. Moving at your extremely high speed for such a long period of time would exhaust you and therefore make you susceptible to my attacks."

Assassin gave the smallest smile possible, "It appears you are as smart as you are deadly… and beautiful…" Assassin's smile did not waver as he slowly drew his second blade.

At the top of the steps, Lancer viewed the fight and remarked to his Master, "She's doing much better than I expected."

"That second sword…," Rise bit her lip as she remarked about Assassin's second blade, "I feel like we should be worried."

_Should she be worried? About what?_

Souji put his thoughts together as he asked Rise, "What does she need to worry about?"

"Watch… Souji-kun…," Rise pointed out. She turned to Lancer and said, "Get ready to move…"

Now with two swords bared, Assassin turned to Aigis and looked for some sort of confirmation from the blond-haired girl with the golden headband. When Aigis nodded in Assassin's direction, he reciprocated and turned back to Saber. His tone changed back to a tone similar to the one Aigis always used, "If I cannot defeat you with pure speed, I will use my power as well."

"That is your plan?" Saber replied calmly, "A Noble Phantasm?"

Assassin closed his eyes and his body suddenly started to phase-shift, splitting in a wavering motion. Saber did not move, instead… she only watched until there were eight Assassins that had completely surrounded Saber. Saber steadied her shield and blade as she looked at each Assassin, even using her peripheral vision to see the ones behind her.

Assassin took a deep breath as the original Assassin said, "Since this is your end… I will enlighten you of what will happen." As Saber focused on that Servant, Assassin continued, "Eight strikes from eight people… simultaneously…" He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing before he said to Saber, "I'm sorry to have lied to you Saber, but I have been hiding my energy."

Saber nodded, "I am afraid I do not have as much as endurance as you as believe."

"There is only one of them… only eight strikes…," Saber said softly as the Assassins began running around their opponent, swords bared.

Saber tried to keep track of where she thought the real Assassin was at all times as he constantly moved around the circle; he was moving so fast that it made her long black hair blow around. Saber could not allow herself to be confused by the constantly moving Servant, so she closed her eyes and held her shield right above her head. She had left it up to her instincts to judge when Aigis's Servant was going to attack her.

Assassin struck from 7 o clock compared to where he had originally split into eight. Assassin all but glided with his two swords as he slashed repeatedly at Saber. As Assassin closed in and made his first strike, Saber opened her brown eyes and lowered her bronze shield and polearm-like weapon in front of her body. The only strike Saber saw was the first strike and not the other seven. The endless blurs that were Assassin's swords striking Saber drove the Servant back a step and another. When Assassin was finished his eight horizontal, diagonal, and vertical cuts, Saber's bronze circular shield had two large gashes that nearly cut through to the middle of the shield. Her own hybrid weapon had a large gouge taken out from one of slashes from the Assassin's attack. The other five of the Assassin's attacks had gone straight through Saber's defense and ripped into her arms and torso. Saber's cream-colored dress was being stained red as the slices in the dress had resulted in similar cuts through her skin.

Souji could not help but be worried at seeing this woman being hurt at the fight happening just beneath him, bleeding all over the ground. She looked like she was in pain, but did not move from where she was, confronting Assassin from where he now stood.

However, Rise knew just how bad it was as she said, "So… that's his Noble Phantasm…" She did not stop watching the fight, but asked Lancer, "Could you dodge it?"

"Not completely… no…," Lancer replied, "Though… my own Noble Phantasm could…"

Rise bit her lip. There should been no way that Assassin could have done so much damage to Saber's weapon and shield, even with the Noble Phantasm. Assassin's Noble Phantasm was meant for chipping away at an opponent and utilizing his speed; it was to bleed an opponent. It should not cut apart armor. It had to be something to do with the mana leaking out between Souji and Saber. The summoning was incomplete and it was all Souji's fault.

"You really messed up, Souji-kun…," Rise said under her breath, "If you summon a Servant only to get her killed because of her ineptitude."

The only saving grace was that Assassin's Noble Phantasm was not an attack with a wide range. Saber still did not know why her Master and the others had not left when Assassin prepared his attack. Saber was weakened from the Assassin's attack, but she held her weapon straight out in front of her. She placed her right foot forward to extend the reach of her now damaged pole arm.

"You survived my attack…," Assassin said, completely ignoring that the fact there was a weapon in his face, "I'm surprised you were able to deflect three of the blows and neutralize the effectiveness of the other five. You should not even be standing." He looked at a few of her wounds that were bleeding profusely.

"I live to surprise you; I suppose," Saber sighed as she wiped the blood off of one of her side wounds.

"It is a shame that I have to kill an honorable opponent like you, but…," Assassin's voice blurred as he suddenly started shifting again; he was starting to split into eight yet again.

Saber raised her damaged shield in front of her again to try and prepare for the second round of the Assassin's Noble Phantasm. As Saber exhaled a breath, she felt a pull as she heard the words, "Saber!" from behind her.

Souji was not sure why he yelled her name, especially since she was the one who was supposed to protect her. It could have been the fact that his 'Servant' was bleeding heavily and that she was about to be attacked by the same attack that had hurt her so badly. It might have been Rise's comment on how Souji had failed somehow even though he had no idea on what he did in the first place. All Souji knew was that this beautiful young woman was going to die unless he did something. He considered himself all but helpless, so screamed her name… or what she was going by in this fight. Souji felt one of his newly-formed tattoo-like markings on his left arm disappear when he yelled.

Saber did not want to run away, but her Master had yelled for her. It was a command and she had to follow his orders. She used the slight delay and distraction of Assassin splitting into eight to run towards her Master, Lancer, and his Master. She had never moved so fast and her injuries were a non-factor to catching up to her Master, a silver-haired young man.

Aigis was not amused at the fact that Saber was trying to escape with Souji, even if she did not show it on her face. She said a few words and Assassin stopped his Noble Phantasm. However, Assassin did not give chase right away; it was because Lancer had taken a step forward. Aigis was walking towards the stairs, instead.

Saber had reached the top of the stairs, looking unhappy at being brought back from the duel. She was bleeding in multiple places, but still had her shield and weapon in her hands. Saber's tone was not regal as she said, "I told you that my job is to protect you…"

Rise sighed, "They're coming…" She looked at her own silver-laden knight with a diadem-like headband and commanded, "I know if I have you use a Noble Phantasm…"

"That doesn't matter…," Lancer responded, "It's you that I'm worried about…" He watched Aigis walk towards them. He said, "You just summoned me a few days ago…"

"Only hold him off long enough to let us get away…," Rise nodded.

"Understood… Master," Lancer confirmed; he had a definitive tone in his voice.

Lancer was the second Servant to jump away from the stairs and towards Assassin. Unlike the first time Rise's Servant approached Assassin; Lancer had sprouted small wings and flew towards the samurai.

On the top of the stairs, Saber looked at Rise and said, "Let me take my Master away from here. You did what I asked of you… now let me continue my mission."

Souji did not expect that response from the girl with the bronze half-helmet and long black hair. Rise appeared unhappy with Saber's remarks as she questioned, "Do you know where to take him! Do you know that with every step… you're weakening him?"

_She's… weakening me?_

Saber looked affronted, but Souji suddenly felt weak in the knees for some reason. Rise noticed this and pointed this out, "See… he can barely stand? Let's just get him back to where he lives… not run off somewhere."

Rise did not know why she was still worried about Souji. She had just gained a new rival… a new enemy. Yet, she was still worried… worried about him. Rise steadied Souji under her shoulder to prepare to help get him back to his dorm or wherever he lived.

Saber exhaled, cutting off whatever she was going to say to Rise. She muttered, "If we're going to leave… let's do it now before Assassin's Master kills us."

Rise agreed, just in time to see the fireballs fly from Aigis's hands. With a magical shield from Rise and the remnants of Saber's bronze shield; the three of them retreated from the steps and their attackers.

Assassin was ordered to kill Lancer if the opportunity presented itself, and for the second time, Lancer confronted Assassin on Rise's orders. Assassin still had both of his thin swords bared as Lancer held his spear horizontally with one hand on the far end of the haft. Lancer looked confident as he held the spear, but it did not stop Assassin from starting to phase shift again. By the time there were eight of the red-armored samurai, Lancer said, "Do you think it's going to work on me? Your Noble Phantasm?"

The Assassin in front of Lancer said, "I believe it will succeed... My Hassou Tobi has not failed me yet…"

As Assassin started his encircling technique for 'Hassou Tobi', he felt himself rooted to the ground as Lancer shifted his hand to the far end of the spear haft. Assassin looked up to see Lancer floating with his small-ish wings. The other Assassins disappeared as small shrubs and other plants rose around Lancer.

Assassin did not look troubled, but he could still not free himself. He said to his opponent, "I seem to be trapped by… your own Noble Phantasm, perhaps?"

Lancer's voice was much more pronounced as he replied, "You are bound to death by the Protector of the Forest…"

Assassin exhaled and said to Lancer, "I see… At least I know who you are now." He continued, "But… why the incomplete attack?"

Lancer suddenly landed on the ground as his wings folded back into his silver armor, behind his triangular shield. As let go of the spear with his off hand, the shrubs and plants started to wither. He answered Assassin's question, "My goal was not to destroy you, at least tonight. My orders were to allow for my Master to escape."

With that, Lancer jumped away before Assassin could break free from the weakening binds of the forest. He ignored the small fry known as Assassin's Master. He had one goal now. "I have to get back to Rise…," Lancer said under his breath as he jumped up and over the steps.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Morning, Dorm, Souji's Room<strong>

It was probably one of the most confusing and painful nights of Souji's life. He had watched one of his classmates try and kill him; she had broken his leg by shooting fireballs at him. He did not mention stunning him with those blue eyes of her so a samurai that appeared out of nowhere could cut him in half. Just when Souji thought he was going to die, Rise showed up and sent a knight-like person with a spear to fight the samurai. Souji thought he was finished when Aigis broke his leg, indirectly with her fire, and he used his own blood to summon a beautiful black-haired woman that defended him. Yet, she nearly got herself killed and Souji had yelled at her to return. Souji understood none of this, including the nonsensical information Rise had spouted about Masters and Servants.

_Damn… what happened last night?_

Souji opened his eyes to see his room lit by natural sunlight. He was lying in his bed and underneath his covers as well. His right leg; it was still a little sore, but it did not feel like it was broken anymore. Souji turned his head to look at the mirror and sink to get a look at his appearance; he saw something that he did not expect to see at all. At his desk, and using his computer, was Rise Kujikawa. The red-haired idol was wearing white Capri pants that stopped just above her knees and a peach-colored tank top. Her hair was not in pigtails; it just hung loose around her shoulders. Souji watched her search for something on the computer, using the wireless mouse he had spent an exorbitant amount of money on; it required a lot of envelope folding to buy. It almost cost as much as his wireless keyboard.

_Why is Rise Kujikawa in my room? I don't even want to know how she got my computer password._

Souji was still wearing his clothes from last night; it was just... the principle of things. He did not exactly bring girls into his room all the time. The only girl that ever came into his room was Fuuka, and that was generally when she entered the doorway to tell him that the dinner was ready or that he was going to be late for school. The only other girl to have been in the room with him besides Fuuka was Mitsuru and that was to talk about regulations inside the dorm. Rise… the fact that she was here when Souji woke up and completely unannounced; it bothered him. She brought butterflies to his stomach, beyond the fact that she was the one who had protected him last night. Yet, there was no reason why she should be in his room when he woke up.

Souji was going to say something to the girl; the pretty girl in peach… when she turned and said with a smile, "You're finally up, Souji-kun…"

Souji responded without a smile as he pushed himself up to a sitting position, "Can I ask what you are doing here? In my room?"

Rise's smile disappeared in an instant. She was almost angry as she said, "Is that any way to speak to the person who saved your life?"

"Was it really that bad?" Souji's memory was kind of fuzzy after the three of them headed towards the dorm. He raised his tone, "And did anyone see you? What if someone sees you?"

Rise shook her head, "You collapsed right in front of your dorm…" She suddenly chuckled, "I dropped you because you were too heavy."

"But… what about the fact that Rise Kujikawa is here?" Souji rephrased the question slightly.

Rise sighed, "I moved into the dorm this morning. It was actually more of a problem to move in Saber… considering she had nothing to move in and that there was no credible explanation for her. Oh… that and she was bleeding all over the carpet when we got back last night."

_Rise's living here…? And Saber's here!_

"Wait a minute…! You moved in! Saber is here?" Souji's voice strained as he jumped from one topic to another, "What is going on! I want an explanation about last night! About all of this!"

Rise's tone softened, "Try and calm down… I'll get to that." She tried to explain slowly, "Saber, that's the girl you summoned last night. Unlike your classmate who attacked you and me, you can not make your Servant disappear. Therefore, this was the only logical place to have her stay."

_Servant…_ _What the hell is a Servant?_

"What is a Servant, anyways?" Souji had calmed down a little.

"The Servants are heroes, gods, or goddesses of the past who have been summoned to protect and fight for their Masters for one purpose," Rise said.

"And that is…?" Souji asked.

"To find the Holy Grail by destroying the other Servants and/or killing the other Masters…," Rise said slowly while staring straight into Souji's eyes.

_Kill… other Masters? Does that mean… me? Kill Rise? Kill Aigis?_

Rise seemed to know what Souji was thinking and closed her eyes before she said, "I want you to know that we are technically enemies, Souji-kun."

"So, I am a Master-person, after all," Souji nodded. He asked Rise, "And you may try and kill me?"

Rise frowned, "I'd rather not kill you… But sometimes the best way to get rid of a Servant is to get rid of the Master. You can actually steal a Servant by killing the Master."

_I am so confused…_

Souji's confusion was evident as he said, "What marks you as a Master? How was I able to summon a Servant anyways?"

"It takes a lineage of magicians…," Rise answered and then continued, "The markings on your arm…"

_I guess I am a magician, but not really…_

Souji looked at his left arm and showed the two gray tattoo-like symbols that remained, "These?"

"Yes…," Rise nodded and lifted her right hand as it glowed. It showed three red symbols, "The Command Spells… They give you the ability to command a Servant to do something they do not wish to do. Every Master has three of them when he summons a Servant. Since you only have two left…"

"What happens when you lose your Command Spell-thingys?" Souji said.

"You lose control of the Servant and anyone with the ability can bind them to servitude, including other Masters who had lost Servants," Rise explained.

"Obviously, that's bad for everyone…," Souji exhaled; he was trying to keep calm. He still had a thousand questions. He asked, "Who are all these Servants? Mine is Saber, I guess. You called yours Lancer, and Aigis called hers Assassin."

Rise steadied herself in the chair before she said, "Yes… mine is Lancer. There are seven total. Saber, which is your Servant and the one who attacked you, is indeed Assassin. The other four are Berserker, Archer, Rider, and Caster.

"And what is the Holy Grail?" Souji pushed the covers away and sat with his feet hanging over the side of the bed.

"It supposedly can grant the wish of whoever obtains it," Rise shrugged, "I don't really know much about it, but I can take you to someone who can explain it in better detail."

Souji shook his head. It was so much information and he did not understand half of it. Rise had told him so much and none of it had seemed to have sunk in yet. The idol that had acted so nice towards him; she was really his enemy and rival, and she was living in his dorm. The person who tried to kill him last night was in his school… in his class. He needed to ask even more questions.

Souji put a hand on his forehead, "So… if you're my enemy… why are you telling me this? Why are you living here? Why did you even help me last night instead of finishing off Saber when she was injured… or me for that matter?" He bit his lip as he stood up, "The one who attacked me last night… she's my classmate in school. What's to stop her from attacking me at school?"

Rise was not sure how to answer at first. She could not easily explain many of her actions last night or this morning. She had gotten into a disagreement with her Servant over her treatment of Souji, but she had no particular argument to defend her actions.

After thinking for a moment, Rise pursed her lips before she said to the silver-haired second-year, "I… I don't plan on attacking you, at least not yet…" Rise sounded a little sheepish, "We have others to take care of first, and then I'll worry about you."

_Huh…?_

Rise added, "I wouldn't attack you while others are living here… not in the dorm." She continued, "Your classmate wouldn't attack you in broad daylight… definitely not during school. After school… in the evenings…. We fight."

Souji closed his eyes. He asked, "I just have one more question for now…"

"Hmm…?" Rise raised an eyebrow.

"Why did you ask me to walk you back… and then you know…?" Souji actually looked a bit embarrassed as he tried to finish his question about Rise's actions.

Rise was as serious as she had ever been when she said, "I wanted to know… if you were a Master. If you were one… the one who was attacking people…" She looked nervous, "Since you were at my concert… that's why I was a little forward…"

While Souji listened to Rise finish her sentence, someone knocked and the door opened. A girl shorter than Rise with short green hair entered the doorway, looking more than a little surprised by Rise's presence.

Souji was more than surprised by Fuuka's entrance into the room and the tone of his voice was almost a whisper, "Fuuka…"

"Souji-san… I didn't realize…," Fuuka blushed as she looked from Rise to Souji and back to the ex-idol, "I can leave you two alone."

Fuuka had a green cover-up over her summer clothes today. Souji did not know how to respond, but Rise stood up and walked over to the shorter girl and smiled. Rise greeted Fuuka, "Hello, my name is Rise Kujikawa. You must be Fuuka-senpai. Souji-kun told me a lot about you."

"I see…," Fuuka said.

Rise continued, "I just moved into this dorm and Souji was explaining what dorm life was like."

Souji nodded in agreement. There was a lot of explaining, but he not going to tell Fuuka what was really going on; it would be a definite no-no in Souji's book. He would not want to get Fuuka involved in this.

"Okay… Souji-san," Fuuka said. She gave a half-smile towards Rise, but it did not look completely genuine as she said, "Nice to meet you, Rise-chan…" Fuuka turned back to Souji and said, "Lunch is ready… so come down when you're ready…"

Fuuka turned away with a melancholy look that was becoming commonplace in the past couple days. She headed down the second floor towards the lobby where the lunch was resting on the dining table. Rise looked at Souji and said, "Sorry for making it awkward for your girlfriend." Before Souji could interject and tell Rise that Fuuka was not her girl… the redhead said, "It's another reason why I can't get close to you while I'm here."

Souji sighed, "Whatever… so, you're up on the third floor now. Is Saber up there now, too?"

"I am…," Rise said, "Saber is sleeping… trying to recover the mana she lost in the battle and in healing you."

"Healing me…?" Souji was confused.

"Well, since you apparently don't know how to heal yourself… Saber used her own mana. That's very bad for her health…," Rise explained, "If you want to keep her alive… Learn some healing spells."

Souji defended himself, "I've never had anyone teach me. My father was always gone and never able to show me how to use magic."

Rise rolled her eyes, "Well… I don't know about teaching you… It's bad enough about everything else, but… we'll see."

Souji shook his head. However, he had a new question, "You mentioned that you wanted to see if I was the one attacking people. Then you mentioned the concert… did you mean the attack on Club Escapade the night before we fought Assassin?"

Rise nodded, "You see. There is another way Servants can both gain and regenerate power. They can steal power from regular humans by all but sucking out their life energies… or you could almost call it their souls. It increases the power exponentially if they do this."

_Servants sucking out other peoples' energy… souls?_

Souji was astonished, no... He was beyond shocked to hear Servants could do that. He knew Rise would never do that… considering she was searching for someone who was attacking others.

"That's just terrible… I just couldn't see myself doing that," Souji said, "Killing regular people by draining out their energy. It's wrong."

Rise nodded, "It is wrong… What's worse that it seems is that Assassin was not the one who attacked the people at Club Escapade. It's why we had doubts…"

Souji stretched out his arms; he was still too confused about everything to figure it out right now, "Well… we can worry about that later. I want to eat some of the food Fuuka made before it gets cold. I do need to change out of these clothes, so if you could…"

Rise blushed a little as she nodded in understanding, "I'll head downstairs…"

As Souji undressed and grabbed a fresh pair of pants and a white polo; his head hurt of all the jumbled knowledge thrown into his head by Rise. He had no idea where Rise's Servant was and Saber was apparently sleeping in a bed upstairs. After he dressed, Souji fixed his hair and popped his collar. He headed out of his room with slight trepidation and insecurity. He had indirectly messed up his friendship with Fuuka yet again. He was getting way too good at doing that by accident. Before Souji could head down the stairs, he ran straight into Yosuke, who was leaving his room.

"Souji!" Yosuke was rather excited, "I have great news!"

"Risette moved into our dorm…," Souji answered Yosuke before the fluffy-haired with headphones could tell him the news.

"You already know…?" Yosuke brushed off his surprise when he said, "That's not all, but… let me tell you something else…" Yosuke suddenly looked a little reluctant, "It kind of relates to you though…"

"Okay…," Souji shrugged, "That's fine…"

"It's that she wanted to walk with you only because she needed someone to protect her from all of her crazy fans," Yosuke explained. She looked excited and a little embarrassed as he explained, "She wants me to walk her home after school tomorrow. Though… she seemed serious when she talked to me…"

_Well… she doesn't want me to get attached to her. You are just another pawn._

Souji knew that it was true in some ways and in reality; Rise did not need him anymore. Yet, it still hurt to know that he was being cast aside for someone like Yosuke. Souji felt somehow… worthless. In Souji's mind, it kind of sucked…

Souji headed downstairs, his mood dampened slightly to add to his confusion as he saw a nice meal waiting on the table. Generally, not all of the inhabitants were present during lunch on the weekends. Some of them went out with other dorm members or other classmates for lunch. Another group occasionally found other things to do and ended up missing a meal.

It was similar today as a couple second-years and a third-year were missing from the dorm when Souji hit the bottom stairs. Chie, the second-year with a brown bowl-cut was usually dressed in really short jean shorts and a green sleeveless shirt. With her absent, it would be a lot quieter on account of the daily arguments between her and Yosuke. It would also be quieter because Junpei, the young man who always had a backwards baseball cap on his head, was not in the dorm. The loudmouth had a grudge against Souji for various reasons and anytime Junpei was away from Souji; it was rather pleasant. The only person Souji did not expect to be absent was the other silver-haired young man, Akihiko. Souji had no idea why any of these three would be gone right now.

Mitsuru was already sitting in her seat and greeted him, "Hello, Seta… are you feeling better?"

"Yes… thank you, Mitsuru-senpai…," Souji responded.

Fuuka, Rise, and Yosuke were also sitting at the table. Yosuke looked at Rise and kept looking at Rise with a glossy look in his eyes. Fuuka looked at Souji when he took his seat next to hers; she tried to look lively. Souji wondered if she was trying to adjust her personality for him to counter Rise's presence. Rise did not look at Souji when he sat down next to Fuuka, but… he still felt like she had placed her eyes upon him. It almost made him shudder.

Souji had not seen Kanji until after he had sat down next to the green-haired second-year. The tall blond first-year was standing near Mitsuru at the head of the table. He said 'hello' to Kanji when he saw him, but Kanji did not respond. It was only when he turned his head that Souji noticed why Kanji was not responded; it was why Kanji was actually blushing at what he saw.

_Saber…?_

It was the girl from last night… It was his 'Servant', Saber. It was the first time he saw her in daytime, and not carrying a shield and a blade. There was a word to describe her… it was…

_Beautiful…_

Her short black skirt showed off her long legs and when including the white blouse; the clothes accentuated what looked like incredibly smooth skin and developed figure. It was something that would definitely not be noticed last night in the middle of a battle. Her long black hair went down below her waist which was held back by a very thin silver headband. The real kicker was the thin glasses that were on Saber's face… glasses that could be pushed up. Souji could understand why Kanji was staring at Saber; he was a bit taken aback himself. In fact, Saber reminded him a bit of… his last girlfriend… Yukiko.

_If anyone has a glasses fetish… God help their souls… She's been dolled up by Rise Kujikawa._

"Uhh…," Kanji really was lost for words.

Saber looked straight at Souji with a stern look; she looked like she was waiting for him to introduce her to everyone. This problem for Souji was that he had no idea how to introduce her to everyone else. He could not introduce her as his 'Servant' or anything that would set off Yosuke; she had even brought Yosuke's distracted eyes away from Rise. Even her name, Saber, was something that was far too unique to make sense.

_Everything is so complicated…_

"Well…," Souji tried to stall while looking straight at Saber.

Instead of Souji explaining, Rise answered, "This is Aria… She's what again… your second cousin?"

_Aria… a fake name…?_

Some of the group, Kanji and Fuuka looked confused on why Rise answered for Souji, but then Souji continued, "She's from my father's side… she lived in America before she came here just last night."

Saber, or Aria, still had her regal tone as she went with the two Masters' stories and said, "I'm sorry to inconvenience all of you, but my parents insisted on me moving to Japan. Since I did not know of anyone but Souji living here… I came here last night. I am sorry I have imposed upon you."

Kanji looked like that the last thing Saber was doing was imposing upon his presence in this dorm. Mitsuru, however, said, "It took some work, but I believe you will be able transfer into the school by tomorrow. The problem was the lack of paperwork provided."

Saber nodded, "I appreciate it." It was very important to Saber, to stay close to her Master. Saber continued, "I'm sorry I could not provide more paperwork; it was because of the issue that I had to leave in a hurry."

Mitsuru waved her off, "It is not a problem…" She motioned to Saber, or Aria, and then to the dining table as she said, "We are having lunch… will you join us?"

Lunch was an interesting affair as Saber took her seat next to Souji. However, she said nothing to her Master during the whole meal. Instead, she listened to the tall blond first-year try to engage her in conversation about her time before she came to Tatsumi Port Island. Kanji Tatsumi was very unsuccessful in his endeavor to make conversation with Saber. Mitsuru, at least, made a little small talk with Souji's Servant by asking about how the accommodations were in the dorm and if anything could be improved. Yosuke spent the whole time talking to Rise, while Souji spent his time speaking with Fuuka. Souji did not talk to Rise during lunch.

It was Kanji and Yosuke's turn to clean up the table after lunch, so after the meal… Souji stood up to head back to his room for a little bit. He did not know why he wanted to go back, but he had an idea why. The dark burgundy carpet under his feet led him to the far room on the right of the second floor. Inside his room, Souji grabbed the remote for his TV that lay on his desk, sat in his desk chair, and then turned on his television. He went past the channel that was airing a shopping channel that ripped people off with gimmicky crap until he reached the news. He listened to baseball scores and the impending weather… rain. Finally, the local news, what Souji was waiting for, started.

The newswoman was in front of cinema that Souji, Aigis, and everyone else had been involved in last night. Souji finally got a good look at what sort of damage had been done to the area. It was quite impressive to say the least. The biggest amount of damage was from something that Souji did not even notice while he was paying attention. There appeared to be overturned sections of the plaza… and in its place… soil.

The newswoman started with a microphone in her hand, "Today's top news story is about a group of vandals who have reached a new height by attempting to burn down the local cinema… The group also appeared to tear up part of the surrounding plaza…"

The newswoman went on about other recent vandalism, but none of the other attacks seemed to be anything like what happened last night. The newswoman made no mention of what happened at Club Escapade or at that bookstore, either. There was no mention of attacks of people fainting or dying, either.

_It appears there were no other attacks where Servants attacked regular humans._

Souji took his remote and turned off his TV. He thought he should go see Saber and talk to her about last night. There was probably information that he could only get from a Servant. There was that… and the fact she was probably annoyed about what he did last night and the setup of living here with him.

Before Souji could even get out of his chair, there was a knock on his door. When he called out to see who was knocking, the answer was, "It's me… Souji-san…"

_Fuuka…_

Fuuka entered, considering she had Souji's permission to basically enter at anytime. Souji might regret that someday, but right now… he did not mind. He liked her well enough, even if she was not stunningly pretty like Aigis, Rise, or Saber. Saber was the only one he would probably trust at the moment… though Souji trusted Rise, which he just found out he could not.

So… when Fuuka entered, and took a few more steps into his room than when Rise was inside his room earlier today, she said, "Hey… Souji-san…"

"Hey… Fuuka…," Souji said, "I'm sorry about earlier…"

Fuuka's face was already red. She muttered, "It's okay… but about that…"

_Oh…_

"I'm guessing you wanted to ask me something, right?" Souji guessed, "You didn't get to ask me that before lunch…"

Fuuka nodded, but the red tinge only increased, "You remember what I asked yesterday? About going out for coffee or something?"

_Oh… right… I basically shot her down… And everyone killed me for it…_

Souji breathed in and out before he said, "Yeah… well… right now?"

Fuuka… there were no words to describe the happiness or the redness on her face. She smiled and muttered something like, "O… okay… I'll meet you downstairs."

Souji was going to repair his relationship with Fuuka, one way or another. If he had to start dating Fuuka… he was not really sure if he wanted to do that. He just wanted to keep his friendship with her intact… though he thought it was going to become a lot more complicated. The one thing he did not want to do; it was to break her heart for whatever the hell was going on.

_Servants and Masters… it better not ruin my life…_

When Souji came downstairs after making sure his hair was still in place, he saw that Fuuka was already waiting for him at the front door. Sitting at the far couch were Rise and Saber. Souji opened the door to head out with Fuuka, who almost was a red and green Christmas tree that all but grasped onto Souji's arm to head out for coffee. At that moment, Saber made to get up, but Rise grabbed Saber's shoulder to stop her from interjecting. Souji never even noticed as he left with Fuuka in tow.

Saber kept her voice low as Fuuka left with Souji, "It's too dangerous for Souji to go alone with this girl…"

Rise shook her head, "You can't just follow him… remember, you're incomplete and you can't just disappear."

"Still… he could be in danger," Saber argued.

"No one will attack him in the daytime…," Rise retorted; her voice was not heated, "She's basically his girlfriend, Saber…"

Saber did not look happy, but the longer this argument would go on, the more her points would be shot down. She finally said as she sat back down, "You better not betray us tonight then…"

"Well… you couldn't beat Lancer if we decided to…," Rise smirked, "Not in your condition and not with a lame duck magician."

"Lancer has a weakness… and you know it," Saber replied.

Rise shook her head and smiled, "Quit worrying already… I wouldn't betray Souji-kun… at least… not yet." Rise continued, "Tonight… hopefully Souji will get a few more answers and you can beat some sense in him." She stood up and walked towards her room on the third floor, leaving Saber behind.

Rise left Saber unsatisfied and wary, but... Saber was already wary of the redhead.

* * *

><p>I hope you enjoyed your read as I butchered Kanji's interests in girls. He likes them glasses. Every non-MasterServant will call Saber (Aria). Is this chapter perfect beyond all belief? Probably not… but I still hope it is good enough for my readers. Auf Wiedersehen.


	3. Chapter 3 Guidance from the Servant

_**Chapter 3**_

_**Guidance from the Servant**_

_Thoughts_

I own nothing but my lack of creativity. I do not own anything to do with Fate/anything or Persona.

It's Souji mainly because Golden is not out and Ultimate is not out. Also, anime is not worthy of mentioning. Besides, Souji has been added to my spell check. I use first names because… I am writing in English for this story. If you want Japanese, I am not in the mood today or tomorrow. I will, however, use –san and –chan and whatever else if it refers to the Persona characters because this is Tatsumi Port Island (P3 world). I will go with how the games use the names.

Servants will be 'Personas' and the Personas will not match up to the Personas in their respective games. If I said this would not be just a little AU on personalities on the Masters and locations, I would have you send me to the nearest mental institution. If I don't take other liberties with a few things, not gender, but slight variations on weapons and appearances… I would still be struggling on what Servants would be what. They have to be humanoid, yes? Yes, girl servants will have boy masters and vice-versa.

I will use my skills in German and then bastardize it for the spells.

Relationships? Haven't decided on it…

* * *

><p><strong>Chagall Café, Afternoon<strong>

Souji expected his time with Fuuka to be time spent fixing a somewhat fractured friendship that was caused by the entrance of way too many girls in his life over a very short amount of time. First, Aigis, a very pretty blond with short hair, suddenly became interested in him, and then proceeded to try and kill him. Of course, not before she brushed off Fuuka in front of Souji. Rise Kujikawa, a famous ex-idol with red pigtails, transferred to Gekkoukan High School only a day ago. She proceeded to spend that first day by attaching herself to Souji and then saved his life. The next day, she said eventually she might have to do the same thing that Aigis attempted to do, in killing Souji. In all of this trying to kill Souji; he had managed to summon a tall and beautiful black-haired girl that went by the name of Saber. Apparently, Rise had told Souji that she was subservient to him… pretty much. She had the boys' attention… at the dorm at least.

_At least this is normal…_

All of this randomness had fractured his relationship with his best 'girlfriend', a short second-year with very short light green-haired second-year girl named Fuuka Yamagishi. He was closer to her than any boy, even though he had only known her for a year and a half. That even included his friend Yosuke, who had moved him from Inaba to Tatsumi Port Island. Souji probably would have gone out with Fuuka; she more than liked him, if he was not still recovering from being destroyed by his ex-girlfriend, Yukiko, right before he left Inaba. There were times Souji thought he should just push his painful feelings aside and just start dating Fuuka, but it… Fuuka understood. Now that it became really complicated, Souji had decided to at least try and make it up to her.

_Well… she was the one who asked; I just accepted her offer._

Originally, Souji had turned down Fuuka's offer to go out for coffee with her; it was because it was the night that Souji was supposed to meet Aigis to train his magical skills. If Souji knew that it would lead to Aigis trying to kill him instead… Souji would have taken the opportunity to accept Fuuka's offer and never bother going with Aigis. He might have avoided this whole mess. Now, he was sitting with Fuuka at Café Chagall.

Café Chagall was a popular place for close friends… but mainly couples. It was situated in-between the karaoke and Club Escapade at The Paulownia Mall. Fuuka was rather red the whole time the two of them made their leisurely stroll to the café. After receiving their coffee, Souji had to explain to Fuuka that Rise and Aigis were only friends.

_Aigis… I can't really tell Fuuka that Aigis tried to kill me and Rise is my friend but is going to try and kill me at some point._

Souji also reiterated Saber's, or Aria's, familial relationship with Fuuka. Saber was renamed as Aria when she arrived to his dorm by Rise since the name Saber was too suspicious. Rise changed Saber's look slightly, but changing her name could not hurt either. He just worried that Saber would now have a fan club the size of Rise's.

_Rise made Saber prettier than holy hell… if that's possible._

As the two high school students, Souji and Fuuka, sat across a table near the front of the cafe with coffee in their hands, Fuuka said to Souji, "I guess I finally understand what happened all of these times. Rise-chan needed help escaping from her fan club and Aigis-san needed help with homework."

Souji felt bad lying about the reason he met up with Aigis, but he nodded, "Yeah… that's right." He continued with somewhat of an ashamed look on his face, "I just hope you can forgive me about not meeting up with you yesterday. It's my fault…"

Fuuka shook her head, looking bashful. She said in response, "No, Souji-san. It's alright. I'm just glad… glad that we could meet today."

"Me too…," Souji agreed.

"Do you think… we can meet up again like this?" Fuuka asked, "You know… like today?"

It would be nice to meet up with Fuuka more often. Souji did not know just involved this Servant and Master thing would entail. So, Fuuka would be an outlet that would bring peace within the chaos. Souji said in response, "That would be nice…"

Fuuka blushed for what appeared to be the thousandth time in the past ten minutes. She said, "Can I walk back from school with you tomorrow?"

"Sure…," Souji said.

Souji hoped there would be no reason why he would have to stay after school tomorrow. It might hurt Fuuka's feelings. There was definitely a chance he would have to if Saber told him to stay around. Still, Souji did not mind doing something like walking Fuuka back to school. There were parts of him that really wanted to, because he did like Fuuka.

Fuuka placed her coffee down on the table and when the silver-haired boy opposite of her did the same; she bit her lip and touched Souji's hand. Souji knew she was really struggling but she was using all of her courage to try and be forward with her emotions, especially now.

Souji did not even seem too surprised, but even he was almost threatened to blush when Fuuka moved as close as she did on the way back towards the dorm. Being next to a girl like Fuuka was far different than a girl like Rise. She was more wholesome, compassionate, friendly…

_Less likely to get me killed…_

Souji wondered how long Fuuka had been holding in these emotions. Both knew that they liked each other at least a bit, but as they reached the street where their dorm resided; Fuuka knew that Souji was not ready to date anyone… much less her. All of the rumors and all of the girls that suddenly popped up out of nowhere, causing rumors to swirl around Souji; it was probably for that reason that Fuuka suddenly wanted to start expressing her feelings more openly.

When Souji opened the door to the dorm, the lobby was completely empty. The three couches where Saber and Rise sat before Fuuka and Souji left were now somewhere else. The dishes had been put away from the wooden table and no one was present behind the divider either. He walked with Fuuka all the way up to the second floor before he parted ways.

Souji sighed as he walked to the room farthest to the right. Souji would not involve himself with Fuuka if there really was inherent danger between the Masters and Servants. Considering all of the stories Rise had fed Souji of people being drained of their energy by Servants for their energy. It was a slight deterrent for Souji to be too attached to someone like Fuuka, even if he did like her.

Souji pulled out his key, the key that he would be executed if he lost, and placed it into the slot. As Souji prepared to turn the slot, he noticed that it was already unlocked. Souji knew that he had locked it before he left to go with Fuuka and was hesitant to open it. He steeled himself for whoever might have unlocked his door and went through his doorway to discover…

A long pole arm pointed straight at his face, keeping Souji from moving an inch into his room. The wielder of the pole arm was one of the most attractive young women Souji had ever seen. Her short black skirt showed a ridiculous amount of smooth and silky leg and her white blouse with the short sleeves accentuated all of her curves. She had a thin silver headband, but that was not the most essential; the part that would be driving the boys wild. It was the thin glasses that she wore. The one who had the weapon in Souji's face was his own Servant, Saber.

_Holy shit…_

Before Souji could even make an argument to tell Saber to remove the pointy object away from his face; she said to him, "We have to talk…"

"Uhh… okay," Souji just wanted the weapon out of his face.

The pole arm moved slightly, a few inches up and away, before Saber said, "No matter how close you are to this… Fuuka… It gives you no right to stay out this late with her without your Servant present. You might be compromised and there is nothing I could do..."

_Is she lecturing me about… what I can and can't do?_

"It's kind of like what Rise-chan said…," Souji muttered. He raised his eyebrows after he gathered a little courage, "Did you say you wanted to accompany me whenever I go out with someone like Fuuka?"

Saber appeared to ignore Souji as she said, "I also want to tell you about Lancer's Master…"

_What now…?_

Saber continued while Souji was still wondering what Saber was going to talk about, "Though she appears to be helping us at the moment, you must always remain vigilant. There is a chance that she may stab us in the back before she says she will."

_Well… I sort of expect that. Though… part of me doesn't…_

"Is that all…?" Souji sighed, "Because I have something I want to ask…"

Souji did not get to ask his question because even though Saber had lowered her weapon, she did not stop, "I want to discuss what happened last night."

"What about it…?" Souji responded.

_We survived, didn't we? What's wrong with that?_

Saber's voice was serious and unwavering, "Though your plan to retreat was not completely foolish, but it was against my orders. The plan to involve me in your retreat, to waste a command spell to force me to your side so both of us could retreat safely to this place was extremely foolish. Your life as my Master is far more important than mine as a Servant."

Souji tried to protest, "Why… Don't you think that if I summoned you… that you could protect me as I left?"

Saber raised the hand that was not holding the weapon to silence Souji, "If I was not holding back Assassin until that moment; he would have crushed you like a bug. Since Lancer's Master was willing to protect you against Assassin's; it was the best bet for you to stay with her. Instead, she was forced to send her own Master at great risk to her to duel Assassin to protect you."

_Actions like that that make me doubt any possible hostility towards me. _

"I understand…," Souji nodded, "I'll try and think things through a little more."

Saber did not quite smile, but she seemed to approve of Souji's answer. Souji understood that whoever Saber was; she had to also be a tactician as well. She did not seem to be as fast as Assassin. Her weapon was not even a real sword at that. Still, there were so many issues that Souji did not understand.

"Can I ask a question?" Souji shook his head as there was one pressing thing that had to be answered.

"Yes, Master?" Saber said.

"How did you get into my room?" Souji inquired as he put his right arm halfway up the doorway.

"She picked the lock for me," Saber answered, "… Lancer's Master…"

Souji bit his lip in frustration. He was about to say something… something very rude about the girl who picked the lock when the very same girl said from behind, "I told you to call me, Rise-chan…"

Souji felt the red-haired ex-idol slip underneath his right arm to head towards the other side of his room. Rise Kujikawa was nowhere as tall as Saber, but you could flip a coin on who was more stunning. Even without makeup, the girl with white Capri and the peach-colored tank top with her twin pigtails dropped plenty of boys to her knees. Her red hair was down and untied at this time.

Souji was not smiling when he confronted Rise and stated, "You picked my lock…"

"Well…," Rise had a small smile on her face, "We needed to get in…"

"That's not a good reason to break into my room," Souji retorted.

Rise completely ignored Souji and said to Saber, "Oh… you should call your Master, Souji-kun... It would sound weird if you go into school tomorrow and you start calling someone younger than you 'Master'."

Saber seemed to be struggling with this, as she finally said, "It isn't your decision, Rise-chan."

Souji had to agree with Rise. If Saber called him, 'Master', during school… he got enough weird looks already. Souji shook his head, "Just call me, Souji-kun…"

"Alright, Souji-kun…," Saber relented.

"Yep…," Rise put on her cheery face before she continued, "Now… you can call her Saber while we're around, but she's pretty much Aria-senpai everywhere else."

"Okay…," Souji shrugged and Saber followed suit.

Rise smirked, "But… if you feel like… you know… calling her 'Aria-chan'…"

Souji rolled his eyes, "Please… don't start anymore rumors…" Souji put his hands behind his head as he muttered in the direction of Rise, "I already have more than enough floating about you, Aigis, and Fuuka."

Saber seemed unfazed by all of the ramblings going on between Souji and Rise. It made Souji wonder something; it was something that Rise had done. He voiced those thoughts to Rise, "Rise-chan, why did you decide to dress up Saber like this?" Souji gestured towards his Servant, the very pretty girl in the short skirt and blouse.

"What…? You don't like?" Rise asked, "I think she's really pretty…"

Rise gestured for Saber to sit down with her and both of them took a position next to each other on Souji's bed where Rise took one of Souji's pillows into her chest.

"Well… I didn't say she wasn't pretty…," Souji said.

"Ohh… so you think Saber is pretty," Rise smiled, "Aww…"

"Shut up, Rise-chan…," Souji shook his head. He steadied himself, "You didn't really answer my question."

"Besides drawing a little attention away from me…," Rise went straight up to Saber, literally a few centimeters away, "I turned her into someone who looks innocent and delicate, yet… she can kill with ease."

_Tell me about it…_

"I mean…," Rise continued, "She appeals to all boys…" Rise gestured to the glasses, "She's got the glasses for the guys who are into those."

_I know quite a few…_

"She had those long legs to work with...," Rise continued, pointing at Saber's skirt.

_Don't even start about that._

Even Souji felt embarrassed when Rise poked at Saber's chest and said, "I mean… look at these. They're huge! We had to do something about that."

"Was that really necessary?" Souji shook his head, trying to hide his cheeks.

"It worked on you, didn't?" Rise chuckled.

The worst part was that it seemed to have no effect on Saber. She seemed not to care about the whole exchange between Souji and Rise, or what she was wearing. When Souji protested about it, Saber answered, "They are only clothes, but if my Master does not want me wear them, I can find suitable replacements somewhere else."

Souji was a bit afraid of what might happen when Saber said that. She said that they were only clothes, but the way that it was said. Souji was just a little afraid that Saber might do something quite foolish like…

_Just… no…_

Rise put her hand out; she looked disappointed, "You don't like what I did? I worked hard to try and find cute clothes for her… try and figure out a suitable name for her."

Souji felt a little bad for Rise. It was not that Souji thought Saber did not look cute or anything in her outfit. Souji was… he just thought that she looked a little too… Was it really necessary for a person like her to look like this? It was distracting… even for him.

Rise noticed that Souji was indeed distracted by Saber. It was bad enough that she pointed out, "Souji-kun… you're staring at her."

Souji's eyes had drifted away from Saber's eyes and it made him blush a little to hear that. What made him feel worse was that just like before… Saber did not seem offended that Souji's eyes had wandered dangerously close to an area that was slap-worthy. It was just a little disturbing to him.

Souji was tired of standing around, so he crossed his arms as he said to the pair, "So… I'm sure you two have some other reason for being here than to chastise me about hanging out with Fuuka by myself."

Rise answered the question, "We're going to see someone to try and explain a little more about what's going on about all of the Masters and Servants to you."

"Where…?" Souji asked.

"You'll see…," Rise answered.

As Rise gave that statement, Saber stood up and made to move past Souji. He moved up slightly and then to the left so his Servant could slip by. Saber said, "Thank you…" She added, "Bring some sort of weapon… just in case…"

As Saber headed down the hallway and then the stairs, he knew it would not look as bad if someone saw her coming out of his room, since she was supposed to be his cousin. Then Souji remembered that he could still marry his cousin. He actually had a running offer to marry his younger cousin in Inaba… as long as he did not set her on fire. Souji stared in the direction where Saber was headed until he turned back to Rise.

As he looked at the ex-idol, he asked, "Why do I need a weapon? And where is she going?"

"Just in case we're attacked…," Rise said, "She's heading outside to where I left Lancer…"

_How does she even know where you left him? I bet he's invisible…_

"You have a magic tome or something in your room, right?" Rise looked around his sparsely decorated room, "In your desk?"

Souji sighed. It did not seem like it would do much to lie to her, considering she could probably kill him pretty easily. He answered, "Bottom drawer on the left…"

Rise did not open the drawer, but instead, she sat up from the bed and walked over to Souji, "If we're still partners after the next couple days; I'll teach you what I can…"

Souji did not really know what to say to that. This is was a person that was supposed to either kill his Servant… or kill him at some point. Even so, she was offering to help him become a better magician. Most likely, it was just so he could be a suitable ally for her when they fought other Servants and Masters. She would probably not train him to her level so she could easily dispose of him after all of the other Servants were dead, but still… It was the fact that Rise would take the time…

As Rise passed by him, she said, "Let's go… I don't want to keep Lancer waiting any longer. He gets a bit cranky if I tell him something and then I make him wait."

Souji took a deep breath as he heard Rise's footsteps disappear. It would definitely be an issue if someone saw Rise leave his room, but it would not be the first time someone saw her leave his room today. At least, he cleared up that issue with Fuuka for the time being. Apparently, he was under Saber's thumb now. He could not leave at night without being accompanied by Saber, which actually made sense. As he scoured the far left corner of his room starting from the doorway for his baseball duffel, he understood the fact that his school was populated by at least one other Master. It was going to be hell to deal with Aigis.

He pulled out his baseball bat, taking the handle with his right hand and the end with his left. With the bat behind his back, Souji stretched out his back before he released his grip on the end of the bat and slung the blunt object over his right shoulder. With that, he left the room, turned left and headed down the stairs to an empty lobby. Souji guessed that Rise had already left the dorm, so he opened the door and ran straight into the glasses-clad Saber.

"Sorry, Saber…," Souji muttered, trying not to notice that he had run into the back of Saber.

"I…It is okay, Souji-kun…," Saber said very unsteadily. She was trying to use Rise's suggestion on what to call him, but it was obviously a struggle.

Souji barely noticed that he was a little red when he had bumped into Saber; he also did not notice that the sun had nearly set. Thankfully, Rise called him over; she was standing far off to the side. Souji walked down the cobblestone road towards where Rise was relaxing with her legs set apart at shoulder length.

"Aww…," Rise smiled, "You were blushing…"

"Well… If you ran into a girl like that," Souji shook his head.

"If it makes you feel a little better… it startled her too," Rise said.

"I thought it was because she was using my real name for once…?" Souji responded.

Rise shrugged, "Well… that made it worse…"

Souji looked around, obviously confused, "I thought you were waiting with Lancer?"

"I can't exactly have a guy who is wearing armor walking around the city," Rise explained, "He's invisible, remember?"

Souji looked at his own Servant who had a pole arm on her back of her seductive school uniform-like outfit. He shook his head. "Is there something I can do about her?" Souji asked

Rise shrugged, "We should hurry…"

The ex-idol motioned to Saber that they were leaving. Saber nodded and the four, including the invisible Lancer, left to see whoever they were going to see.

Souji was a little unsure at first of where they were going, but it only took a short while to figure out that they were headed towards Paulownia Mall. Who they were supposed to see there was a complete mystery, but he had to put some faith in Rise. Souji just stuck close to her during the trip. He did not want to get in Saber's way if there was trouble, and Rise could protect him in the same situation.

Souji turned to Rise as they left the shuttle. As the two of them started to walk, he asked, "I know you put glasses on Saber for aesthetic value, but… I just feel like there is something more to it."

Rise nodded, "I just thought… It's because you have that spell that extends sight. It does the same for her."

"Interesting…," Souji closed his eyes and put his lips together for a second. He posed another question, "Why does Saber seem so unfazed by everything you did? Everything you say about… well… everything?"

Rise sighed, "Servants don't really feel like humans anymore… Some weren't human in the first place… Some were gods or goddesses. They are only here to accomplish a mission and serve their Masters. They don't need frivolous things like attachments or any unnecessary emotions."

Souji shook his head, "That's… I feel… It's terrible. They are reborn only to fight?"

"Pretty much…," Rise frowned, "You'll understand a little better when we get to Paulownia Mall."

"I only have one more question…," Souji said. They were nearing the near fountain of the mall.

Rise nodded and said, "Okay…"

Souji took a deep breath, "Since you've been paying so much attention to Saber lately… and then… would you rather kill me instead of getting rid of Saber at the end of this?"

Rise stopped in her tracks, "Don't ask me that… I don't want to think about that… I don't…" Rise started walking again, but it was a pace Souji could not keep up with. However, he did hear, "I don't want to kill anyone… especially not…"

_Why did I ask that?_

The Paulownia Mall was even more crowded now than it was when he was there with Fuuka only a few hours ago. The only night that would probably have been more popular was yesterday. The café was packed to the brim with people and every other store was full of people. Each of the three fountains reflected people who were standing around. A few stared at the pretty girl who had a weapon on her back, but a few others stared at the ex-idol who was walking with an annoyed look on her face. The look was the only reason they did not ask for autographs. As Souji walked behind the girl with the peach tank top, he did not even notice a young girl with long silver-blond hair in a dark dress pass by the edge of the mall.

Rise kept up her high tempo and Souji was forced to follow as best as he could as Rise moved in-between the police station and the antique shop. She was actually headed into a small alleyway that was actually underneath the karaoke hall. As Rise ducked into the alley, she said to what appeared to be thin air, "Lancer… can you keep watch while we're gone?"

To Souji's surprise, though he should not have been, a tall man with blond hair down to the nape of his neck appeared with steel armor that shone like silver. The circlet atop of Lancer's head was encrusted with a ruby. He wielded a long spear and had a large triangular shield on his back. He definitely would have stuck out in the middle of the

Souji made the same motion towards Saber and said, "Saber… do you mind waiting outside for a bit?"

Saber nodded and moved partially out of the alleyway to keep watch. Lancer, however, stayed at the edge of the alleyway to hide his appearance from any who might pass by.

Meanwhile, Rise had walked to the end of the dirty alley. Souji followed suit and held his nose; it was a disgusting place. She kicked a piece of banana peel out of the way and looked at Souji with a wrinkled face. She asked, "What do you see?"

"A dirty alley…," Souji answered.

Rise rolled her eyes, "Use your spell…"

_Okay, okay…_

Souji closed his eyes. He needed to believe that there was something to see. He could not slow down time, but instead… he needed to see what was not there. He muttered, "Siehe Ungehemmeter."

As soon as Souji finished the spell, his eyes widened. In place of the wall at the end of the alleyway, there now stood a shining blue door and its presence bewildered Souji.

Before Souji could even ask Rise about what this door was, she had already opened it and gone through. It made him wonder if she could even see it, and that she needed him to reveal it. She certainly did not use any spell like the one he used before. If she could open it on her own…

_Why did she make me use my spell? _

Souji could not worry anymore about any of these trivial matters, and instead busied himself by pulling on the handle of the blue door. He was greeted by white light, blinded by the light. When he could see again, he saw a pair of metal-wire chairs, in which Rise was already sitting in one, and then a circular table. Across from the table was a very wizened… very old man wearing a tuxedo who was sitting in another chair. He had huge, bulging eyes and an extremely long and crooked nose. He was not the only other person in the room. There was a young woman standing to the right of the old man with very short silver hair that did not even come down to her ears wearing a very tight blue dress with yellow buttons down the front. She had creepy yellow, almost golden eyes that peered into his soul. She was pretty, but still a little unnerving… more than Saber.

The young woman in the blue dress motioned for Souji to sit in the seat closest to her. Souji reluctantly took the seat and placed his aluminum bat against the side of the chair, hoping Rise would say something to break the tension. Souji expected for the old man to be the one who Rise brought Souji to see; the girl being the old man's slave or something. However, it was the young woman who started the conversation, not the old man.

The girl with the yellow eyes looked at Souji and said, "Hello, I'm Elizabeth. I am the Administrator…"

"You are…?" Souji raised an eyebrow before he realized what he said, "Sorry…"

Rise gave him a look, "Sorry about that. This is Souji… He's a half-trained magician who accidently summoned a Servant, but has no clue about what is going on. I explained some things but not everything."

Elizabeth looked to Souji and said, "You summoned a Servant without the knowledge of the War?"

"I was just trying not to get killed by my classmate who told me she was going to teach me magic," Souji shrugged.

"Well…," Elizabeth said, "This is an ancient war between seven Servants and their Masters."

"I got that part. I also heard there's something about a Holy Grail?" Souji said.

"The war is a battle for the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail allows for the champion to have one wish fulfilled…," Elizabeth nodded.

"By champion…," Souji started.

Rise finished, "Both Servant and Master…"

"Servant and Master?" Souji raised an eyebrow.

_I don't know what the hell I would wish for. What the hell would Saber want?_ _What would Rise want?_

"This is the 'sixth' Holy Grail War…," Elizabeth started a new topic, "There was an attempt to destroy the Grail in the fourth war. The fifth took place around… ten or so years ago."

"How do you destroy the Grail?" Souji asked.

"I guess you would want your wish to be 'I want to destroy the grail'," Rise suggested.

Elizabeth nodded, "Luckily, it failed. However, the former Administrator died in the process."

"What does the Administrator do?" Souji asked.

"The Administrator makes sure the rules are followed and offers protection for Masters who have lost their Servants. Usually, Masters without Servants are certain targets for other Masters."

_Not a lot of room to stay in here._

Suddenly, Rise broke in and asked, "Who won the last war and what did that person wish for?"

"I can't tell you, but that person wished for immortality…," Elizabeth answered, "That person is currently… well… the Grail is not always what it seems."

_Double-edged sword…_

"So… I am stuck in this war… no matter what?" Souji muttered.

"Unwittingly, when you summoned a Servant, you are bound to fight for the Holy Grail…," Elizabeth answered.

"I think that's all I need to hear for now…," Souji nodded, "Thank you…"

He stood up before even Rise could acknowledge that Souji was about ready to leave. He knew that he was trapped in some sort of conundrum as soon as Saber appeared to fight that samurai-like character that attacked him at the cinema. Now, there were seven of them. Four Masters and their Servants… he had not met yet. Souji had to get rid of all of them, including of Aigis's Servant… and finally Rise's. Saber was his Servant, so she should beat all of them now. As long as he did not have to kill any Masters in the process, he felt okay…

_I couldn't imagine killing Rise… or even Aigis._

As Souji opened the door to leave the Velvet Room, a summer breeze and the darkness of evening hit him. He knew Rise was close behind him and he knew it was probably wise to not talk to her for the moment. As Souji made to call out to Saber instead, he heard two clashes of steel.

_Saber…?_

Souji shouldered his bat and ran out of the alleyway to see an almost abandoned Paulownia with the usually lighting that flooded the mall shut off. The only illumination came from the moon that shone brightly in the late evening.

As Souji looked for the sources of the sound… the resonating steel against steel. Souji moved away from the alley, the antique shop, and the police station so he could follow the sound. His mouth dropped a little when he saw Lancer and Saber fighting against a six-armed brown-skinned woman wearing little more than a loincloth. In each arm was a steel sword. When Souji took a closer look, he saw that around the woman's neck was a ring of skulls.

_Oh my god… We actually got attacked while we were gone? And what the hell is attacking us?_

Saber had drawn her pole arm off of her back and was trying to close in with her longer weapon, but was being parried by three of the arms of this Servant. She would block and force Saber away… The Servant had the high ground… by the karaoke hall. The exact same thing was happening to Lancer and his attempts to close in with his spear, thanks to her other three arms. This Servant was completely dominating the battle. It was not even the worst part, as Souji saw her push both of them back long enough for the new Servant throw two swords at both Saber and Lancer. Saber was barely able to block the weapons with a quick diagonal cut up and then down. Lancer used a similar motion to the same effect. However, neither Souji's nor Rise's Servants could take advantage of the situation because new swords appeared in her hands almost instantaneously.

"This is bad…," Rise said from Souji's left side, "Archer has the high ground…" She had apparently left the room right behind Souji and joined up with him in short order.

"Archer…?" Souji was confused. He gestured towards that monstrosity of a woman and said, "That freak is Archer?"

"Archer may not be strong enough to defeat either of our Servants head-on, but she can try to wear us out," Rise said, "We will be hard pressed to get through her defense like this."

"You are kidding, right?" Souji said, "Then… how do we beat this… Servant?"

"I don't really… k…," Rise started to tell Souji.

Souji did not know how to put his bat up in front of Rise's face. He just had a feeling she was in danger. It was not magic… it was just a feeling that he had. He needed to protect Rise and he instinctively threw his metal bat in front of Rise. It was why he was so surprised when it made contact with a large twin-bladed metal axe. All he felt was the resounding shockwaves through his right arm.

_Wha…!_

Rise shrieked as the axe head landed only a centimeter from her head; Souji had barely caught the axe. Souji finally saw who was wielding the weapon. It was a massive… no, muscular young man in a long, large dark burgundy trench coat. He had an almost black beanie on top of his head. He had shaggy brown hair and an angry look. This person had to be someone… probably Archer's Master.

"Who the hell are you!" Souji yelled for both of them, holding the bat in place.

The terrifying young man lifted the axe away from the bat, revealing a dent in the sports equipment. The probable new Master in the trench coat spit on the ground as he shouldered the axe for another strike.

_Shit…_

"Rise-chan!" He called out to the girl who was still at his left. He muttered, "Shit… she's still in shock." He spun the now dented bat in his near-numbed arm, "Well… if I have to do this without magic… he'll wish he never met me…"

* * *

><p>This was actually the second half of the 2nd chapter I never got around to posting. It's kind of rushed and choppy in my opinion. It's a lot of ideas I floated around, but I really wanted to put in there. There was still more I wanted to put in, but I was too busy or I wanted to save it for later chapters. Need to save more character development for later, I guess.<p>

Oh… P.S.: Saber looks a bit like P4 Chihiro, except… summer-like clothes, long black hair instead of brown and silver glasses with a silver head/hairband.


	4. Chapter 4 New Experience for the Servant

_**Chapter 4**_

_**New Experiences for the Servant**_

_Thoughts_

I own nothing but my lack of creativity. I do not own anything to do with Fate/anything or Persona.

It's Souji mainly because Golden is not out and Ultimate is not out. Also, anime is not worthy of mentioning. Besides, Souji has been added to my spell check. I use first names because… I am writing in English for this story. If you want Japanese, I am not in the mood today or tomorrow. I will, however, use –san and –chan and whatever else if it refers to the Persona characters because this is Tatsumi Port Island (P3 world). I will go with how the games use the names.

Servants will be 'Personas' and the Personas will not match up to the Personas in their respective games. If I said this would not be just a little AU on personalities on the Masters and locations, I would have you send me to the nearest mental institution. If I don't take other liberties with a few things, not gender, but slight variations on weapons and appearances… I would still be struggling on what Servants would be what. They have to be humanoid, yes? Yes, girl servants will have boy masters and vice-versa.

I will use my skills in German and then bastardize it for the spells.

Relationships? Haven't decided on it…

I'll be using Saber said, "… when it has to do anything about being a Servant. It'll be Aria said, "… when it has to be being human-like." Why? I like being confusing or maybe… I like making Saber human-like?

* * *

><p>Souji Seta swung his bat straight across, left to right, to try and parry a powerful downward cut from a tall and muscular young man wearing a burgundy trench coat and dark beanie. Apparently, this man was Archer's Master, but most of the swings from his axe were not even aimed directly at Souji. The Master of Saber was desperately swinging the much lighter weapon to protect the red-haired ex-idol, Rise Kujikawa. Rise Kujikawa was the Master of Lancer and dorm mate of Souji. This new Masteer that was giving Souji so much trouble had nearly killed Rise without Souji's quick thinking, and it had rendered Rise useless… as she had turned into a frightened little girl in this fight. So, it was up to Souji to fight this axe-wielding Master.<p>

"Siehe Ungehemmeter…," Souji muttered as he focused on the new appeared Master's axe.

Souji watched as the repeatedly swung weapon started moving in almost slow motion. This spell was his specialty and with it… Souji was able to see every movement of the axe in half-time… sometimes even slower. The power of each axe strike, however, was the same. Souji was unable to attack, even with the reduced speed of the attacker, as the energy expended by Souji to match a downward cleave by Archer's Master made Souji's arms numb.

_This guy… He won't stop me…_

The whole reason Souji had pushed Rise back to the alleyway and the whole reason they were in Paulownia Mall in the first place was because the two of them where there with their Servants to visit the Administrator of this War for the Holy Grail or whatever it was. Whoever outlasted everyone else, got rid of all of the Servants, and obtained the Grail would be able to grant a wish of their choosing. As usual, it left Souji with more questions than answers, but it was enough.

Saber was knocked back, down the flight of stairs that led up to the karaoke that resided above the alleyway in Paulownia Mall. The one who had knocked the beautiful young woman down the stairs was a barbarian-like black-haired brown-skinned woman with six arms with a curved sword of three feet in each hand. The woman, according to Rise was known as Archer, had used three of her six arms to trip up and knock down the Servant with thin glasses and a silver headband. The real reason she was so easily knocked down was because there was another Servant standing in the same area as Saber, trying to take down Archer.

After Saber hit the bottom of the stairs, she picked herself off the ground and grabbed her pole arm that had fallen off to the left side of her body. She heard the fighting below her and felt a pull… an urge to go over and help her Master. She knew that her Master was fighting alone and was struggling. Yet, she knew that her job was not to fight other Masters; it was to fight and protect her Master against other Servants.

It's was Saber's mission to fight someone like Archer, so the young woman in the school girl outfit gripped her pole arm and made to run back up the stairs. She had faith in her Master… faith that he would be able to hold off Archer's Master just long enough for her to take care of Archer. As Saber put her right foot on the first step, the third Servant that was involved in the fight stopped Saber in her tracks.

When Saber was knocked off the stairs, Lancer, a regal man with silvery-blond hair that came down to his neck and clad in steel armor that shone like silver, was left to fight Archer and her six blades by himself. Before Saber could run back up the stairs, Lancer, his spear engaged with two of Archer's blades, said to her in a stern tone, "Protect your foolish Master… I will take care of this vermin."

"But…!" Saber objected as Lancer pushed away the far two arms and then blocked another one of the swords.

Lancer responded, "Go… I'm entrusting you with my Master's safety as well. I don't trust your Master to protect her for long."

Saber did not know if she should feel affronted or respected by Lancer's words. The only thing that she knew was that Lancer would not budge from what he wanted Saber to do. She could only turn away from the stairs and head towards the silver-haired second-year, ex-idol, and their attacker whose duel had moved all the way to the arcade. Her pole arm in her right arm, Saber flew straight at the trench coat-wearing man wielding an axe on her Master.

Meanwhile, Lancer faced down his opponent on the top step on the entrance to the karaoke hall. He had moved down a step when he used his long spear to defend against two side slashes that came from Archer's top pair of arms. For the first time since his summoning by Rise, he had drawn his large triangular shield off from his back with his left hand and used it to block repeated sword strikes from the other four arms. The speed, preciseness, and tenacity of Archer's attacks did not allow for any counters or such from Lancer. Still, Archer could not make contact with Lancer's weak points, or even his armor.

Even so, Lancer moved down a step to utilize his spear's range and move out of the way of Archer's swords. He wanted to finally be able to attack while forcing Archer to defend. He thrust his spear forward, but Archer used her middle left sword to push the spear to the side; the fact that his spear was extended so far pushed it off-balance. It gave Archer a chance to throw a couple of her swords at Lancer; he barely blocked them with his shield.

"Is this the extent of your abilities?" Lancer asked, pulling his spear back to the front, "You are a disappointment…"

Archer said nothing as Lancer stared down the woman with skulls around her neck. Lancer felt like he could hold off Archer as long as he had to. To Lancer, it meant holding this woman off until Saber took care of Archer's Master.

Lancer held his triangular shield in front of him and his spear out to the side towards four o'clock. His eyes widened as all six swords in Archer's hands flew out of her hands and circled above her. The curved blades suddenly flew straight at Lancer and he was forced to hide his body behind the large shield to protect him from the multitude of swords that came at a blazing speed. All six bounced off the shield, but one ricochet struck his ankle and cut through his left greave.

A small grimace appeared on Lancer's face as six more swords appeared above Archer's head. He muttered, "Is this a Noble Phantasm?" Out of the corner of his right eye, he looked for Saber, hoping that she had already defeated Archer's Master.

* * *

><p><strong>A minute earlier<strong>

As soon as Saber had made up her mind to protect Souji, the Servant with long black hair and thin glasses all but glided at a high speed towards the far fountain that was near the arcade. She saw that Souji's bat had multiple dings and dents in it from the axe, not to mention he was using his left hand to hold Rise behind her. Souji was closest to the arcade with Rise, and being assaulted by the other Master. It seemed that Archer's Master was targeting her for some reason; it might be for the reason that she was unarmed. However, Saber had no clue why Rise had not used any of her magic to defeat the Master.

Souji had his bat in both hands as he struggled to push the Master with the trench coat's axe away. As the bat gave way, the opposing Master never had a chance to follow up with a finishing strike on Souji because Saber came in with a thrust with her pole arm. The burgundy-clad Master's jump backwards forced a miss by Saber's weapon by only a few centimeters. The sight of Saber attacking him put a surprised look on the opposing Master's face.

"Saber…," Souji had a surprised look of his own as he stepped back from the newly started duel between his Servant and Archer's Master.

Saber stepped forward and then circled around opposite of Souji towards the fountain while taking her left hand and placing it over halfway up the haft. With her right hand near the bottom of the pole arm, Saber was prepared to attack the assailant. Before she moved, she said to Souji, "You've done enough, Souji-kun… Leave the rest to me."

Saber did not make her next move right away, instead… she held her pole arm straight out in front of her. She wanted to try and intimidate the Master, and to drive him into a corner for threatening Souji. Her right arm was bent before it started to extend, to drive home and pierce Archer's Master's heart.

Souji stared in disbelief at how his Servant could have made it all the way from the karaoke hall to the arcade in such a short amount of time. All he knew was that both he and Rise was safe because he knew that no matter how strong his assailant was; he could not be as strong as Saber. A Master who did not seem to have any magical skills to speak of; he stood no chance against a Servant like Saber. It was why Souji was even more shocked when six swords flew past the burgundy-clad man, straight at Saber. There was no way that Saber could block the weapons… not all six blades… not without her shield.

Souji yelled out, "Saber!"

Saber's eyes tore away from her foe as she raised her pole arm diagonally right to left upwards. She prepared to try and block as many of the weapons as possible, knowing that the blades were from Archer. She exhaled all of the air from her lungs as the curved swords flew towards her.

"Niemand Wird Verletzt! Schützen Mein Herz!" (No one shall hurt! Protect my heart!) a female voice from behind Souji yelled out.

The red/pink spherical shield surrounded not just the female that had emitted the words, but also Souji and Saber. Inside the bubble-like shield, the swords bounced off harmlessly. Souji felt Rise place her right hand on Souji's left shoulder and he looked back just enough to see her give the smallest smile.

_I see she finally broke out of that shock._

Souji said to her in a soft voice, "Rise-chan…"

Rise responded in a kind tone, "Souji-kun…"

Apparently, Saber ignored both of them because she had turned her focus away from Archer's Master onto Archer. Six more swords were flying towards the three of them. She asked Rise, "Will your shield hold?"

Rise grimaced as she responded, "It will hold as long as I have the mana…"

On cue, the next six swords clanged futilely against the shield. Yet, another six formed above Archer's head as soon as each six hit the shield. As more and more swords hit the shield, Souji saw Rise was starting to struggle. Saber turned to Archer's Master and asked, "Is this Archer's Noble Phantasm? An endless barrage of flying swords?"

For the first time in a while, the opposing Master said something to his opponents, "She doesn't talk much, but she is very persistent in killing people."

Saber wanted to move, and she itched to move and slice apart the tall axe-wielding young man that who's Servant was sending blades their way. Though when she raised her weapon and made a move like she was heading his way, the young man raised his own hand and said, "If you leave your shield, I will send the swords your way…"

Saber bit her lip in frustration because there was nothing she could do. If she was not partners with Rise… she would have done her in herself. It was just making it more difficult. She wondered what Lancer was doing… why Lancer had not killed Archer.

If Saber started to struggle with her conscious, at least a little bit… Souji's struggles were greater; it was not because there was nowhere he could escape to, anyways. He saw Rise wince with each barrage of swords that struck her shield. The mental strain that was being inflicted on her body must have been tremendous, and there was nothing Souji could do except watch. If Souji tried to comfort and reassure her… he could break her concentration and get them all killed.

_What do I do? What should I do?_

Another round of swords had struck Rise's shield, causing Souji to break his silence. However, Rise bit her lip, and ignoring Souji's worrisome call; she said to her knight-like Servant who was squaring off with Archer, "Lancer! It's okay… I need you to stop him… in anyway possible."

Souji looked confused at Rise's statement, but as soon as she finished her words… her shield disappeared. The silver-haired Master rushed back in front of her just in case more swords were headed in their direction. In fact, no swords flew from the top of the karaoke hall above the alley to the arcade in Paulownia Mall. Instead, Souji felt a small amount of the long black hair that belonged to his Servant, Saber, as she blocked an axe strike from Archer's Master. The dissipation of the shield gave a reason for the Master to strike at Rise and Souji again, apparently.

* * *

><p><strong>Back at the Stairs to the Karaoke Hall<strong>

Lancer was feeling hopeless or he had been feeling hopeless the whole time Archer was launching her swords at his Master. Anytime the Servant with the steel armor and large triangular shield tried to stop Archer's Noble Phantasm of six flying blades; she would launch them at him instead of Rise or Souji. Thankfully, Rise had been able to put up a shield that was able to block her curved swords for a reasonable amount of time. He could not expect Saber or her Master to protect her from the Noble Phantasm, especially without Saber's shield. He was surprised Saber would even bother to try and protect his Master, but they protected her from Archer's Master. Maybe Saber's Master cared about his Master…

The whole deal about Archer's Noble Phantasm did not matter anymore. Lancer heard the words from Rise's lips. It was okay for him to release his own Noble Phantasm and with it… it would render Archer's powers null and void.

Lancer could feel Rise's bubble-like shield failing and in front of him… he saw the swords of the six-armed humanoid Archer forming above her head. He had to end this quickly… or risk losing his Master. His Master… was everything to him.

The pale-faced man in steel armor lined with red stared straight into the yellowish eyes of the brown-skinned Servant with the skull necklace and long ragged black hair tied in a ponytail. As the first long curved sword flew; it was knocked off course by a branch that had instantaneously grown out of the doorway of the karaoke hall. Archer's eyes went from Lancer, to the branch, and back to Lancer… all while another sword replaced the one that had flown from the ones circling around her head.

Archer never said anything, as another branch formed from out of the side of the karaoke hall. Lancer closed his eyes, held his spear out to the side and to the steps, and said, "You are bound to death." Roots began to grow out of the stairs and wrap themselves around Archer's legs; it was only then did she start to struggle to escape.

Lancer opened his eyes as more foliage started to appear around him, "I am the guardian, protector of this forest."

Archer attempted to throw the six swords that were still floating above her head, but when she tried to do so… they were intercepted by Rise's Servant. Lancer's small wings had appeared as he flew to meet her weapons that had caused him and his Master so much trouble. Archer's curved blades were ensnared by brambles, and thorny vines that appeared from seemingly nowhere wrapped around Archer's body repeatedly until she could not move.

Lancer said softly, "I am king of the land I protect and I eliminate those who threaten the ones I care about."

In a voice that sound like a cheese grater, Archer said to Lancer, "This will not work on… not on Caster…"

Lancer closed his eyes as he said, "We won't know until we find out, but there is only one way to find out."

He took the spear that was still in his right hand; he turned his right wrist slightly and all of the vines slid across of Archer's body at a high speed over and over until the Servant's body was dismembered.

Lancer sighed at the sight of the dead Servant, already disappearing instead of making more of a mess than she already had by dying in such a gruesome way. The miniature forest that was forming around Lancer was already beginning to wilt, but the Servant had one more important task to complete. He turned around with his wings still present, and flew off towards the arcade and far left fountain.

When Lancer reached his Master, the ex-idol with red hair down to her shoulders, he found her on her knees being supported by Saber's Master. Archer's Master, the tall young man in a burgundy trench coat and a dark-colored beanie had been tripped up by Saber, disarmed, and was being held at weapon-point by the rather beautiful young woman with long black hair and thin glasses. Lancer was sure of one thing; one Master was not walking away from this.

Lancer waved off Saber, who nodded and lifted her pole arm away from the Master she had been fighting. He thought about giving Saber a little bit of the entertainment, considering she had fought him too, but… Archer tried to kill his Master, not her Master.

The young man that stood before his spear did not look scared, and he only grimaced when he pushed his weapon into his left shoulder. Lancer, normally did not like killing, but it was his Master that he tried to kill. It was going to be long and painful for this young man. The red did not stain the burgundy too much, and the Servant was thankful for that.

As Lancer pushed his spear into the young man's other shoulder, Souji turned his head away. He was disgusted by the actions Lancer was taking towards him. Souji felt it was disgraceful to do such a thing against an opponent when they were a prisoner. Instead, Souji looked at Rise, the girl who had thrown up the shield when Archer used her Noble Phantasm against Saber and the two of them. Rise looked downright exhausted, even worse than when she finished using the shield.

Souji said to what he thought was no one in particular, "Are we doing this so he can not get another Servant? Or is it just out of spite?"

Souji thought he was talking to himself, but Saber answered Souji about the Master that Lancer was skewering repeatedly, "It is logical that taking care of this Master is beneficial in case a loose Servant is around. In this case, however…"

Souji sighed, "I see… I just can't help but feel a little…"

Rise's eyes had shut and her head was resting on Souji's shoulder. When Souji felt the pressure of Rise's head on his body; he stopped speaking. It was not that it was embarrassing to have Rise resting on his shoulder; it was that it made him a little self-conscious and he just felt like he should be more careful about what he should say.

_I just want to say something to Lancer… but he's a little volatile._

With another squelch of another stab into the fallen Master's shoulder, Souji opened his mouth to say something, but it was Saber who stopped Lancer by telling him, "Another Servant is approaching… Either leave him alone or hurry it up…"

_Another Servant? Is it Assassin? That would mean Aigis is around…_

"Don't bother me," Lancer responded to Saber as he pulled out his spear.

Lancer was not finished with his job and he was too busy to care if another Servant was coming around. If another Servant did come; he would take care of that Servant as well. The steel-armored Servant pulled back his arm to strike again, but Rise opened her eyes slightly and said to Lancer, "Lancer… we should go…"

Lancer stopped as soon as Rise spoke to him. If Rise wanted him to stop and leave Paulownia Mall… he would leave. Anything his Master wanted that was feasible… he would do. Instead of stabbing into Archer's Master to slowly bleed him to death, he placed his weapon behind his shoulder like Saber had. To hurry up the process, Lancer pushed out his small wings for the second time for the night.

"I promised a slow death…," Lancer said to the Master who was bleeding in multiple places from both shoulders, "Yet… I promise the rest will be nice and quick because you will be bound."

"I have no regrets…," the Master sneered as vines started gathering around his body.

Lancer turned to meet Saber's eyes; he did not want to look at the person who that had grabbed a hold onto his Master. He said to the fellow Master, "He'll die soon enough. Let's go…"

Saber nodded and looked at her own Master. She said to him, "Let's go back to the dorm then."

"Okay…," Souji agreed.

Lancer walked over to where Souji was standing with Rise; he would help Rise back to the dorm from here. It was nice that Souji supported her up to this point, but it was his turn now. Saber was already headed out of the mall when he saw that Rise had wrapped both arms around Souji's neck. It downright infuriated Lancer.

Souji was surprised when Rise had wrapped her arms around his neck. She had closed her eyes again; she might have even passed out. Souji had no clue. It was rather embarrassing and Souji was close to blushing when Rise wrapped her arms around him and kept her head against his shoulder. He was left with no choice but to place his right arm around Rise's torso to support her when Saber looked back at him to leave the mall.

As Souji started walking away from the mall; Lancer exclaimed, "Souji!"

Souji stopped in his tracks before he even made it out of the mall as he heard Lancer's angry tone. He did not turn his head, not wanting to disrupt Rise. Lancer said to Souji, "I'll take care of her from here."

_Should I let her go?_

Souji did not really want to let her go. It was because… well, he did not really know why. It was not because it was Risette, or his opposing Master. Maybe, it was because it was something he felt Souji wanted. He wanted to have Rise's arms around his neck because… just because.

Lancer waited for Souji to let her go; he was ready to take his Master in his arms so he could take her back. He did not care for her in that way, but… it was his duty. It was not Souji's. Though, Lancer was silenced by Saber's look. Souji's Servant was telling him to leave Souji alone. She could feel the slight threatening emotions coming from Lancer.

Despite Lancer's obvious annoyance at Souji, the four of them finally left Paulownia Mall with vines slowly gathering and choking the burgundy trench coat-wearing Master. The only thing that was unnoticed was a small girl walking by in a dark-colored dress and long silvery-blond hair that came down to her waist.

As the four of them slowly plodded their way towards the shuttle, the little girl lifted her small hand and the vines disintegrated; it revealed the dead master. A small smile grew on the girl's face.

Souji had a bit of trouble sitting both he and Rise onto separate seats on the shuttle, considering she still had her arms around his neck and was snuggling up against his shoulder. A bit of him wished he could share a seat with her, but that would definitely... he could feel Rise's Servant's eyes staring into his soul with every moment that Rise had her arms around him. It was worse that he took a seat right across from him at the shuttle. He averted his gaze from Lancer when he took his seat, only for his eyes to fall on… Saber.

Saber had taken a seat next to Lancer on one of the last shuttles of the night. She was not going to say anything to the other Servant because there was a brewing animosity that came not from something she said, but from their Masters. If the actions of the two Masters caused the Servants to clash; it was the will of the Servants. If the reason was because Rise acted too forward, then it was all the same. Saber had no qualms about taking care of Lancer; it was something she would have to do eventually. However, it was not something that would be easy, considering how strong he was proving himself to be. His Noble Phantasm appeared to be incredibly powerful as it was guided by a powerful Master.

Saber closed her eyes and as the shuttle took off… opened them to see her brown orbs fall on her Master. She felt… she did not know if she was doing a good job in her mission to protect him. Yet, seeing another Master, another person she might have to kill around his arms; it was somewhat distracting… somewhat disturbing as well. This was Souji's enemy. This was someone Souji might have to kill, and yet… he was so passé about having her around him. Was he so blind to not see that it was just a ruse? It was just a plan to keep him distracted from the final goal; it was to obtain the Holy Grail by eliminating the other Servants.

"It might involve eliminating Rise, too…," Saber said so softly that even Lancer, who was right next to her, could not hear.

Rise helped her as well when she was first summoned, but she would not, could not get distracted by any tricks. She was only a Servant, not a human. Nothing Rise, no… Lancer's Master ended up doing in the future would confuse her.

The fact Rise was on Souji's shoulder was almost enough to put the silver-haired second-year asleep himself. He was rather tired from fighting and though the seat he was on was uncomfortable; he could fall asleep just about anywhere when he was that tired. It was bad enough that he had trouble getting up when the shuttle arrived closest to the dorm; it was compounded by the fact that Souji was hindered by Rise's arms. Still, he struggled to get up and out of the shuttle.

Lancer scowled as he and the others reached the dorm. He wanted to say something to Souji before he entered with Rise, but kept quiet. The reasoning for his staying quiet was the look of contentment on Rise's face. He would not say something that might wake her if she was seemed at least content for the moment. If Rise wanted to get close to Saber's Master for the moment, then so be it.

The dorm was dark when they entered. It was just about dinnertime when they left to visit the Administrator of this War, but now it appeared the dorm had closed down for the night. It was lucky enough that Souji had his key to get inside.

The girl with the black skirt, white blouse, and thin glasses, Saber, followed closely behind Souji and Rise as they walked past the couches to the staircases. It was then Saber said to Souji, "I'll take Rise-chan to her room."

Souji responded, "Yeah… just in case someone like Fuuka… Fuuka-chan or Mitsuru-senpai is still awake." He decided to call his green-haired friend by a closer term at the last second.

Souji slowly detached the ex-idol from his neck and slowly let the nearly-sleepwalking girl be taken by his Servant. She used her left arm to hold Rise up. It was when Souji reached the top of the second floor that Saber turned her head to tell her Master, "S… Souji-kun… I don't think I need to warn you about staying close to Rise."

Souji nodded, "I understand…"

Saber turned her head back; the look on her face said that she did not really believe Souji. She proceeded up the next floor of stairs with Rise, with thoughts of how far this girl should be trusted.

Souji breathed a sigh of relief when he was finally able to undress and hit the bed for the night. The whole day; it had been far too stressful. He had spent the morning with both Rise and Saber, causing him to try and mend his friendship with Fuuka at Paulownia Mall. With Rise, they went back to Paulownia Mall to see a creepy, but really pretty silvery-blond-haired young girl that explained the rules of a war to kill the other Servants and possibly, the Masters. Then, with Rise's Servant and his own, Souji had to fight another pair; it was Archer and her Master.

All being said, Souji slept relatively easily, considering the situation he had found himself in. He would try to put some of it… the gruesome death of Archer's Master; he would try to put it out of his mind.

Souji woke up the next morning to the call of a regal voice from downstairs; it was Saber's voice that called him. When he looked up to the side table, Souji saw that he had overslept. He bolted out of bed and started dressing before heading towards the sink to wash his face.

_Damn… I really must have been tired. _

Souji adjusted his silver hair before he hurried out of the room and down the hall with his bag in tow. He nearly flew down the stairs, jumping three steps at the time. Souji hoped Saber was still downstairs. As Souji landed with a thud, his supposed cousin was waiting, arms crossed under her chest, by the dinner table with an unreadable look on her face. Saber, no… Aria now, was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. That ensemble included a short black skirt, a clinging white blouse that emphasized her curves, and thin fetish-inducing glasses to go with her thin headband. Something about Aria's stance and look… it almost made Souji blush.

_When we're not in danger she looks so… but… I have to remember to call her Aria-senpai._

Souji shook his head, "I'm sorry…, S… Aria-senpai…"

"About what?" Saber, or Aria, responded.

"You had to call for me to get me up…," Souji explained

"It is not an issue…," Aria shook her head, "I only did what Fuuka-chan wanted me to do."

"Fuuka-chan…?" Souji said with a confused look on his face.

Aria nodded and took a few steps towards the three couches. On the counter was a pair of light green clothed-wrapped bento boxes. Souji knew right away who made those lunches as his Servant confirmed, "Fuuka-chan made lunch for us before she left."

"She left already?" Souji frowned. He really must have gotten up late.

"She had to help set up her classroom this morning," Aria picked up the far bento before she continued, "Rise-chan left with Yosuke-kun like she planned to the day before."

_Oh yeah… Yosuke told me that. He sounded so excited he was ready to take to piss himself._

"And the others…?" Souji walked over to pick up his own lunch, preparing to head out as well.

"Mitsuru-san and the others left a few minutes ago," Aria said.

Souji bit his lip, "Don't you need to be at school early? You needed to meet with your new teachers because it is your first day, I thought."

"You are more important than that… Souji-kun," Aria said slowly.

Souji knew why his Servant said that; it was because she was supposed to protect him. Still, that statement made him redden slightly for some reason. Maybe, it was because it was a pretty girl like her saying it to him.

"Are you okay?" Aria asked with a concerned look on her face, "You are becoming flushed."

"I… I'm fine," Souji nodded.

Aria nodded slightly and said, "Well… let's go before we are late."

Souji felt different being with his Servant in a public setting like this. When there were no reasons to worry about being attacked or go with a weapon… it was weird to just sit with her in a shuttle. She seemed to be having trouble relaxing, but… her presence; it was unnerving having her around. His Servant's looks rivaled, if not outshined Rise just by sitting with her bag between her lap. She received stares from grown men the whole trip towards the stop to walk to Gekkoukan High. Even Souji was guilty of stealing a longer than normal glance at Aria during the ride.

When the two students left the shuttle, they started their long walk down the path to Gekkoukan High side-by-side. The most amusing part was that Aria was less than fifteen centimeters shorter than Souji as the two of them moved towards the clean white buildings. Souji could see eyes on him, as many pairs as when he walked back from school with Rise on this past Saturday.

As Souji reached the buildings with three entrances, he felt his Servant stop, so he stopped as well to hear what she had to tell him. As he looked back he stared into brown orbs through thin glasses as she said, "I'm going to leave and go to my own class now."

"Are you going to be okay? I mean… going to school?" Souji asked.

Souji wondered why he never asked Aria about this earlier. He was asking his Servant to use her other name, Aria, out in the open, and then immerse herself in an environment she would be unused to. Aria was thrown into it without anyone asking her opinion, but Souji figured she would not have a choice in the matter.

Before Souji could truly contemplate whether Aria would be able to function at Gekkoukan, she answered him, "Souji-kun… I will be fine." She shifted her bag slightly in her hands before she said, "I just have one request…"

Souji cocked his head slightly, "Hmm…?" He still was a bit disbelieving that Aria would be okay in a school setting, but he would definitely listen to her request. He owed her that.

"Well… I require…, no, I should not… I ask to have lunch with you on the rooftop," Aria explained.

"Oh…," Souji returned his head to its original position. He could see the stragglers that were passing them by, staring at him and his Servant. Souji continued, "Of course I will eat with you. I want to find out how your first day is going. I'll be on the rooftop."

Aria broke into a smile, the first Souji had seen of the day, before she left her Master behind to find her class. Souji had no time to reflect in the fact that his Servant was happy in the fact they were eating lunch together; he was going to be late for homeroom. He hurried into the building through the left door and quickly changed his shoes. Souji then rushed up the stairs to 2-F and found his classmate who considered himself his baseball rival talking to another of his classmates. The baseball cap-clad Junpei Iori was chattering away with Yukari Takeba; it was a love-hate relationship between the pair. Junpei gave Souji a snide look as he passed the taller brown-haired classmate by and moved towards his other dorm mate, a very happy Yosuke Hanamura. Souji stood in front of his desk.

"Yo…," Souji greeted the fluffy-haired young man who sat in front of him at the back left corner of the classroom. The energy that had emerged from him by the fact that he was almost late had appeared to have been drained when Aria left. He said to Yosuke, "You look happy."

Yosuke smiled wide enough that you could see his pearly teeth as he answered, "You should have seen their jealous faces. I finally know how you feel. I'm eating lunch with her today, and I'm walking her home too."

_I wonder what he would say if I told him that last night I went back from Paulownia Mall with her draped around my neck. She spends half of the day in my room, anyways. Though, she did say she might kill me, so… that's a downer._

As Souji sat down, he felt one of the few people he really did not want to see sitting to his right. A young woman with short-cut blond hair, a large red ribbon attached to her school uniform, and a large gold headband personified the Master of the Servant, Assassin. That same person misled him only a few days ago by saying she wanted to help teach him magic and then trying to kill him near the harbor with her Servant. Souji was only saved by the timely arrival of Rise and her Servant, Lancer.

This Master was named Aigis and she spoke to Souji a few seconds after he sat down and felt her presence. She said to him in her usual monotone effort, "I'm glad to see you're still alive after fighting Archer."

"How did you kno…?" Souji started to ask a question on how it was possible that Aigis had knowledge of their fight.

Aigis answered this time in an almost cryptic voice, "Maybe I was there… or maybe… I just know."

"Well… I'm still here, am I not?" Souji responded in a curt manner.

Aigis's reply almost had a hint of happiness in it, "I'm glad. It is mission to kill you. Archer was a fool and was incapable of handling Lancer… much less Saber."

Souji did not respond. He did not really know what to say to someone like that. Unlike Rise, he really believed that Aigis would try and kill him at any moment. Rise would at least give him fair warning... he hoped.

Even though the conversation between the two Masters ended abruptly, Souji appeared to be the subject matter between a pair of gossiping classmates, both male.

"Did you hear? Souji was walking to school with another girl this morning."

"Another female knockout, but… I hear they're related. Maybe I have a chance?"

"I think they might just be cousins… so I don't know. Souji might have a claim on her yet."

"Damn does this guy get around or what?"

"Yeah, I hear you. First it was Fuuka… and then it was Aigis… then he was walking back with Risette… and now he's got his own cousin!"

"Can I trade places with him? Lucky bastard…"

_What the hell? If only they knew…_

Souji had an urge to stand up and punch both of them, especially for including Fuuka. Rise would not care about any of that shit and his Servant… he did not know how she would react.

_She probably would not care either._

Souji never had a chance to say anything to either of the gossipers because his homeroom teacher, Ms. Toriumi, came in at the point. Souji was kind of hoping she had a hangover today, mainly because he had not done any of his homework on Sunday. There was just too much that happened on Saturday night and Sunday for him to do anything like homework.

The bad part was that his homeroom teacher did not have a hangover like he had hoped. However, the English Literature teacher did not check the worksheet Souji was supposed to have finished over the weekend. The other classes were the typical boring affairs, listening to kabuto-wearing fools and ignorant pedophilic bastards.

As soon as the bell for lunch rang, Yosuke bounded out of 2-F in the direction of the first-year classrooms. He was headed for Rise's class, apparently. Yosuke's other best friend and the one who inflicted most of his injuries, most of them he deserved, Chie Satonaka… she sighed at him leaving the classroom.

_I can only wonder what's going on between the two of them._

Souji would have eaten with Chie, the girl with the brown bowl cut who lived at his dorm, but he had promised to eat with Aria. So, as he left the classroom for the rooftop, he gave a reassuring yet concerned smile towards his friend.

Part of him wondered, as he took a right and then a left towards the stairs to reach the rooftop, if he should have considered lunch with Fuuka as well. The green-haired girl might have been expecting to eat with him. However, Souji had a promise to keep and he headed up to the roof to find Aria with the cloth of her bento unwrapped and her chopsticks in hand as she sat on the far end of the rooftop.

"Aria-senpai…," Souji greeted. In reality, he liked having a name to put to Saber, even if it was not her real name.

Aria looked up from her lunch and her expression changed slightly from non-committal to an expression closer to smiling. She responded, "Souji-kun…"

Souji took a seat next to Aria and as he grasped his utensils, he asked, "How was your first day so far?"

"It… was interesting," Aria answered. She grasped a piece of food in her chopsticks before continuing, "The males in my class seem to be a bit more excited to see me than the girls."

"Well…," Souji shook his head, "You are pretty."

Aria stopped eating. Apparently, she was going to say something, but she had stopped when she heard what Souji had said. She had not expected Souji's response. Eventually, she said to Souji, "Mitsuru-san… eventually calmed the boys down."

"She takes care of all of us," Souji said. He asked another question, "How are the teachers? The classes?"

"The teachers are very congenial," Aria had regained her focus, "The classes are… very straightforward."

"Figures…," Souji said, "You are much older than eighteen, after all."

"If I am correct… that is very rude, Souji-kun," Aria said.

"Oh… I'm sorry," Souji said quickly. He felt himself redden slightly, "I guess it is a little surprising, considering... you pass for eighteen easily."

"I don't want you to worry about it," Aria reassured, "It's not something I am offended by."

"I have a question," Souji suddenly, "Is your appearance based on your Master?"

Aria thought about it for a second, "I never really thought about it. Which Servant is summoned is based on the magician and my appearance… well, I don't know." She chuckled, "I guess… I have been this age for a very long time."

Souji did not ask anything else, instead… he finished the rest of his lunch in silence; he just enjoyed being in the presence of his Servant if that was possible. It was nice seeing her without a weapon. More in the fact, it was nice seeing her calm and… maybe, not thinking about the fighting she would have to do for at least a few moments.

When Aria closed her bento and wrapped up the green cloth, she stood and said to Souji, "I enjoyed spending lunch with you, Souji-kun. Even though there is a Master only feet away from you while you are in school, being here… there is a nice feeling that I can not explain."

Souji was left trying to understand what his Servant meant as she headed downstairs.

* * *

><p>I hope you did not get too confused at the end with the AriaSaber switch. Like Souji said, he likes a real name for Saber. Any help needed on what Archer is? The mysterious girl in the dark dress that appeared from nowhere at the Paulownia Mall?

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the read and I'll keep working as I write my mini-ethnography on music. Auf Wiedersehen


	5. Chapter 5 Worries for the Servant

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Worries for the Servant**_

_Thoughts_

I own nothing but my lack of creativity. I do not own anything to do with Fate/anything or Persona.

It's Souji mainly because Golden is not out and Ultimate is not out. Also, anime is not worthy of mentioning. Besides, Souji has been added to my spell check. I use first names because… I am writing in English for this story. If you want Japanese, I am not in the mood today or tomorrow. I will, however, use –san and –chan and whatever else if it refers to the Persona characters because this is Tatsumi Port Island (P3 world). I will go with how the games use the names.

Servants will be 'Personas' and the Personas will not match up to the Personas in their respective games. If I said this would not be just a little AU on personalities on the Masters and locations, I would have you send me to the nearest mental institution. If I don't take other liberties with a few things, not gender, but slight variations on weapons and appearances… I would still be struggling on what Servants would be what. They have to be humanoid, yes? Yes, girl servants will have boy masters and vice-versa.

I will use my skills in German and then bastardize it for the spells.

Relationships? Haven't decided on it…

I'll be using Saber said, "… when it has to do anything about being a Servant. It'll be Aria said, "… when it has to be being human-like." Why? I like being confusing or maybe… I like making Saber human-like?

* * *

><p><strong>Classroom 2-F<strong>

Souji looked out one of the 2-F classroom window as the afternoon classes were coming to an end. He had no interest in listening to the math lecture, or turning his head to the right. Souji had been distracted since this morning, and it had become progressively worse as time went on. He had been given death threats by Aigis, the Master of the Servant, Assassin. Souji was also dealing with his own Servant, Saber; she had been renamed Aria for non-fighting functions, in becoming accustomed to going to school. Aria's reactions to school so far, which she shared with Souji at lunchtime on the rooftop; it left Souji pondering the meanings of her words.

The classmate in front of him; he bolted out of the door as soon as the final bell rang. The fluffy brown-haired was one of Souji's best friends and was obsessed with the girl he finally had a chance to walk home with. Souji had walked with her on Saturday, and he knew in the end… his friend Yosuke would only end up disappointed.

_You live in the same dorm… If you want to ogle her long legs and her curves, just head up to the 3rd floor._

The young woman with short blond hair with a golden headband and a large red ribbon to Souji's right stood up and started walking away from him. Before Aigis completely left the classroom, Assassin's Master glanced for only a moment at the silver-haired second year; it made Souji shudder slightly.

As Souji watched Chie, another of his dorm mates, as well as yet another in Junpei leave the classroom; he soon realized that he was one of the last students in 2-F. As Souji grabbed the handle of his leather bag with his right hand, Souji pushed himself up and out of his desk with his left hand.

Since Souji would not be walking back with Rise, he headed downstairs by himself. As he passed two gossiping girls and went down the pristine white steps, he saw Aria, Saber's name at school, and Mitsuru walk towards the shoeboxes from the opposite hallway. Souji's Servant gave a passing glance in his direction, something close to a smile. It looked like Souji was not walking back with Aria either.

Souji sighed and moved towards the far shoeboxes. He might be walking back by himself. It would not be so bad for him to be alone on his way back to his dorm. It was just different after the past few days. Besides… usually, he had someone else clamoring to walk home with him.

As Souji finished changing his shoes and was tying them when he heard a very timid female voice right next to him called out softy, "S… Souji-san…"

_Fuuka…_

Souji had not even turned his head and responded to the person he considered his closest female friend when a more firm and confident female voice said, "No, no Fuuka… you're supposed to say…" This new girl had apparently moved around to the other side; his right side, looped her arm around his, and whispered into his ear, "…Souji-kun."

This girl had almost touched his ear and the breath from her words had rushed into his ear like a… it was indescribable. He quickly turned his head and saw a taller girl… well compared to Fuuka. She was quite pretty with short orange hair that was held up with multiple barrettes. She had a very slim skirt and blouse on, like it was just a size too small. This girl was probably Fuuka's best female friend, Minako Arisato. She had grades that rivaled Souji's. She either studied really hard or was just that smart.

_What is Minako doing around me today? Is it just a coincidence as she heads home with Fuuka?_

"Well… Fuuka…," Minako had stood up, released her arm from his, and faced Fuuka, "Ask him…!"

"S… Souji-kun… Will you walk home with me?" Fuuka asked, albeit unsteadily.

Souji looked away from Minako and towards Fuuka. It was not really a matter of whether he should or should not. Technically, Fuuka was as close to a girlfriend that Souji had. Souji answered, "I don't see why I would not want to walk back with you…"

Souji saw the tentative look on Fuuka's face turn into a furtive smile. The silver-haired young man could tell that Minako was happy for her friend on the other side of him. As Souji left the school with Fuuka; he did not expect Minako to join them.

_I guess Fuuka really is nervous today if she asked Minako to walk with us. I wonder if she knows we wouldn't get any alone time._

It did seem a little awkward, Souji had to admit. He did not exactly know what he could discuss with Fuuka, or what Fuuka could talk about to him while she was there. Souji was actually in the middle of their walking… group or whatever it was. Fuuka was on her left and Minako was on her right.

As the three of them walked down what seemed like an endless array of shops and kiosks that would take them to the shuttle, Souji noticed the bookstore where someone had been killed only a few days ago. A Servant of some sort had done this. It disgusted him. As he tried to contemplate this fact, Minako made a comment from across the group to Souji, "Did you know something happened at Paulownia Mall last night?"

Fuuka and Souji looked at each other. Souji tried to look oblivious and unaware as Minako informed the pair, "Apparently, last night a fight broke out and someone was killed."

Fuuka looked shocked, "Someone was killed!" She looked at Souji and said, "We were at Paulownia Mall yesterday…"

"Really…?" Minako said. She added, "This person they found had gashes around his whole body. Not to mention there were dead plants all over the mall, in the fountain, near the karaoke hall."

Fuuka shook her head, "We just got coffee… there were no weird plants around us. Nobody died around us…"

Minako chuckled, "Did you think I suspected you?"

Fuuka gave a short shake and her good girlfriend chuckled again. After that, the three of them dropped the subject and they passed burger restaurants and a ramen stop. As they were about to board the shuttle to head to the dorm, Minako nudged Souji of all people, but then she said to the green-haired girl, "Are you going to mention 'that' to him?"

_That…?_

"Uhh…," Fuuka looked even more nervous than before at Minako's request.

Minako tried to reassure her, "Come on… you know he wants to hear this. He'll hear about it anyways."

_Hear about it anyways?_

"If you don't… Didn't you tell me that Rise Kujikawa is staying at your dorm?" Minako told Fuuka.

"Umm…," Fuuka was struggling to get her words out.

At this point, the three of them had sat down in their seats, but Souji usual lethargic sensibility had been raised at Minako's mention of Rise. He had no idea what Minako was talking about, but he had a sinking feeling that it could not be good. When Rise was involved... it never ended up being a good thing.

"It's… that…," Fuuka looked at Souji; her shy look had returned. After a few seconds she started again, "It's that Mitsuru-senpai… after finals… she's planning on taking us to Yakushima for summer vacation…"

_Yakushima? Summer Vacation? That's… awesome! Fuuka… in a swimsuit. _

Souji… tried not to blush, which only caused to Minako smirk. She had been watching him, waiting for a reaction. He cursed her, but as he did wished for her soul to burn in hell; Souji realized that it might be impossible for him to go to Yakushima.

_Can I even leave the city? There is a war going on… Finals are irrelevant if we're fighting for the Holy Grail. Besides, even if I could… I doubt Sab… Aria would let me… or Rise…_

The idea of trying to explain that a vacation away from the fighting would be perfect sounded illogical and he would most likely be pounded over the head by either Rise or Aria. As any thoughts of heading to Yakushima being squashed by the two girls; it suddenly brought forth the thoughts of the girls in swimsuits. Suddenly, Souji went from cheeks that were barely resisting a small reddening to a full-blown blush.

When Souji's face erupted in a flame of red, Fuuka's did the same as she nearly squeaked out, "Wha… what are you doing, Sou… Souji-kun?"

Minako's smirk grew wider, "Are you having dirty thoughts, mister?"

Souji shook his head as he tried not to let Minako's comment make it any worse. He muttered, "You're not helping…"

"Aww… how sweet…," Minako only smiled at the pair as she stood up and said to them, "This is my stop…" She grabbed her bag and said to the two of them, "Well… make sure you… I mean… well, you know what I mean."

The wink Minako gave Souji was not helpful at all. It was like she was sent only to cause havoc on this planet. After the door closed, Souji muttered to Fuuka, "Is she always like this?"

Fuuka nodded, "Sorry, Souji-kun… she's also a bit of a flirt, too."

Both of their faces were returning to their natural colors as Souji said, "It must be lively in your classroom."

Fuuka smiled, "You have no idea…"

The conversation became light-hearted with the absence of Minako. Souji wondered if some of the pressure; that Fuuka's nervousness was actually caused by her friend's presence, trying to tell her to say different things. Conversations about school and other trivial matters were relaxing; it was a nice distraction. For a reason he never expected to need, Souji enjoyed being around Fuuka because she took his mind off the matters at hand.

As the two of them left the shuttle and the large dark red five story dorm complex started coming into view, Souji remembered that it was Fuuka that made his lunch. He had never properly thanked her for it. There was a long straight path that led to the dorm and as the two of them walked side by side, Souji turned to Fuuka as they walked and said, "I want to thank you for making lunch for me and my cousin today."

The second-year member of 2-E looked jovial at Souji's comment and smiled sheepishly, "It was nothing…"

_She's like the complete opposite of any of the other girls. Fuuka's shy about everything while Rise or well anyone else is likely to try and bowl you over._

No matter how shy she was, it did not stop Fuuka from inching closer until her left shoulder almost touched Souji's right as they were only steps away from the dorm. Fuuka might have gained courage to try something as bold as inch closer to Souji momentarily, but as soon as Fuuka did so; she all but jumped back to a position farther away from Souji than before.

It affected her so much, apparently more than the teasing that Minako did, that as soon as Souji opened the door to the dorm; she apologized and hurried up the stairs. The petite girl was in such a rush that she did not even notice that on the semi-circle of couches there were two girls resting next to each other. One of the young women was awake and was supporting the other girl on her shoulder. She was Souji's supposed 'cousin', but was actually Souji's Servant. The beautiful Servant with long black hair had removed her glasses and was holding them in her left hand. With her glasses removed, Souji could see just how pretty her Servant's brown orbs were. On Aria, or Saber's, shoulder was a dozing Rise Kujikawa. The dark red-haired girl with her hair drawn in twin pigtails had just as long legs as the Servant, despite being shorter. She was just as pretty as the Servant as well.

_Its criminal… watching Rise doze off on Aria's shoulder… They're both adorable._

Souji held his bag in his right hand as he walked over to the far couch where the two girls were sitting. His Servant acknowledged Souji's presence as he approached, and when Souji stopped right in front of Aria; he said with a smile, "Did Yosuke wear out Rise-chan?"

Aria did not quite shake her head at Souji's question since Rise was on her shoulder, but she replied, "It was more that she is still tired from our fight last night."

Souji looked around, making sure none of the other dorm mates were around to hear his conversation, or at least his next comment, "Our little skirmish made the news this morning."

"I'm guessing it was Lancer's efforts that made the news, not either of us," Aria suggested.

"Most likely…," Souji muttered.

"Well… we have nothing to worry ab…," Aria started until the door opened. The person who came through was a very tall and lanky individual who had slicked-back shock blond hair. He was a former resident of Inaba like Souji was at a one point and at seeing Aria sitting as she was, blushed profusely.

_Is he that taken aback by her?_

Kanji Tatsumi was in Rise's year… Rise's class apparently. The first time he laid eyes on Souji's Servant, the obviously unnatural blond young man became a blubbering incomprehensible mess. Today proved to be no different as Kanji could not make a single coherent sentence towards Aria. Souji's Servant ended up raising an eyebrow after Kanji ended up excusing himself after achieving absolutely nothing in his whole time being downstairs.

As Souji watched Kanji climb the stairs to the second floor and all but slam the door shut in frustration at his own ineptitude, the young man with silver hair looked to the stairs and then back to his Servant. He said in an almost lighthearted voice, "Well… another failed attempt by Kanji."

"I'm not exactly sure what he is trying to do," Aria said.

Souji shook his head, "Never mind…." Ignoring a confused look from his Servant, Souji asked, "Did you want to continue the conversation we were having earlier?"

Souji gestured upstairs. He wanted that if the two of them were continuing the conversation, it would be away from any others who might possible walk in on their conversation. "What do you think?" Souji reiterated. He saw Aria was contemplating her decision and that her eyes drifted towards Rise for a split-second. Souji quickly added, "What do you want to do about Rise?"

Aria took a deep breath before answering all of Souji's questions, "I guess I'll take Rise upstairs. I'll meet you up on the second floor… your room in a minute, I guess."

She always sounded like a queen or something of a similar standing. Souji thought. Anytime she spoke, Aria, or Saber, had such a regal bearing that it made her sound like she was the Master in all of this. It made Souji sound a little sheepish when he said, "Okay, I'll see you in a minute then."

Souji did feel a little belittled as he walked up the stairs to the room farthest down the hall and to the left on the second floor. It did not help he again had to deal with an over-exuberant Yosuke who went on and on with his time walking home with Yosuke and how jealous every other guy was to see him with Risette.

Souji eventually had to wave off his friend and leave him to head into his blandly painted room. The twin-sized bed stood straight across him with the TV to the left along with a nightstand on its right. On the left side of the room was a desk with a computer sitting on top. On the same side of the room of Souji was the sink where he washed his face and the dresser with what seemed like a thousand pairs of his school uniforms. He went over to his desk and pulled out the chair to sit in it.

Souji looked down at his lower left drawer at his desk while simultaneously turning on his computer. In the drawer was a large tome that Souji had spent his whole life trying to use to learn to become a proper user of magic except… he sucked at using magic. His family, his father, never bothered to teach him properly, so he learned on his own. It was frustrating, especially because his father ignored him the way he did, on purpose by moving away repeatedly and all but disowning him.

Souji took his eyes away from the lower left desk drawer and instead left his school bag next to it. Souji was going to research the news, looking at the news for any new attacks, by checking the computer. Instead, Souji was interrupted by the door being opened and his Servant entering the room. The beautiful girl walked straight past Souji and took a seat in the middle of his bed with her hands on either side of her.

Aria opened her mouth before Souji could greet her and said, "I woke Rise-chan up and she ended up going upstairs." She looked at him and asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

Now that the question was posed, Souji was not sure where to start with his own. There was one or two things in particular that he wanted to clear up with his Servant. The identities of the Servants were something that seemed to be of instrumental importance to their survival. There was something he wanted to ask before that though. He took a breath and said to his Servant, "Do you really like the name that Rise-chan thought up for you?"

_I mean… the name Aria was basically thrown at you without a second glance._

Souji could see his Servant think for a moment before she answered, "I think it is an acceptable name." She brushed her long black hair away from the bed, making it sure it did not get caught underneath her.

"Of course, she did not use your real name," Souji said, at least happy that she was content about her name, "She doesn't know your identity, does she?"

The Servant that had been christened Aria shook her head before she said to Souji in her typical stately tone, "There was no heroine named 'Aria' as far as I know, and there is no reason for you to call me anything but Saber while we are fighting."

_Why did she jump to that conclusion?_

"I understand," Souji said, biting his lip. He liked the name Rise had given her and was actually a little annoyed. He cleared his throat before asking what was actually important while trying to not seem irritated, "I guess what matters more is the identity of the other Servants that we have encountered so far."

Souji's Servant took a second before she said to Souji, "Well… Archer was a complete mystery. She gave no hint of her identity through her actions and she barely spoke while we fought. I can't say that I recognize her physical form either."

"It's not someone I recognized…," Souji said something that was obvious, "But wasn't Aigis's Servant… wasn't he Japanese?"

Aria nodded, "I think Lancer knows exactly who Assassin is. An invincible Japanese samurai…"

"Then… how about Rise-chan's Servant?" Souji asked, "How about Lancer?"

"At first, I thought it was Cu Chulainn…," Saber admitted. She brushed a little of her black hair away from her eyes, which was just too cute to Souji. She was adorable. She added, "But… when I saw his Noble Phantasm… I now know it is someone else."

"Do you know who?" Souji asked.

Aria shook her head, "I'm afraid I don't. That Noble Phantasm is… it's just something I don't recognize."

_She actually looks a little frustrated at not knowing who these people were or are… By the way… What is her Noble Phantasm?_

"You have a Noble Phantasm, don't you?" Souji asked.

"I… can't use it without knocking you out and putting myself in grave danger," Aria admitted slowly. She continued before Souji could say something, "However, if one of the other Servants put you in danger, I will use it to save your life… even if it kills me upon usage."

_It could kill her…?_

"But…?" Souji started to interject, but Aria put up her hand.

Souji's Servant pointed at his left hand which had two winding dark tattoo-like objects running all the way up his forearm, "I refuse to let you use one of your command seals to do something pointless like not letting me protect you."

_What the hell? Is your life worthless? Then we can't exactly win the war… whatever the hell this war is…_

Souji felt like if he tried to argue with Aria, then he would be arguing with her for hours, and it would do nothing but irritate the Servant. Instead of arguing, Souji decided to placate the Servant and said, "If that's what you really believe… I have no more questions for the moment."

"Understood…," Aria nodded and proceeded to lift herself away from the bed. She walked straight past her Master. The Servant must have recognized the slight frustration in Souji's voice because as Aria opened the door, she turned her head and said, "I realize that I am the Servant, Souji-kun."

As the door closed, Souji was left wondering if he had any real control in this situation, in this war… in his life anymore. He felt bullied not just by his Servant, but by everyone involved in this whole affair. Souji wanted to put the fact that Aria would throw away her life so easily out of his mind. He just turned back to his computer and tried to find anymore examples of possible attacks by other Servants. Souji wanted to see if there were attacks on regular people having their, as Aria told him on the shuttle this morning, 'mana' stolen. After spending an hour looking, and finding only a few records of attacks on the digital news, Souji pulled out a worksheet from his school bag.

_I guess I should just try and forget all of this for now._

Meanwhile, Aria sat on her bed in a room that was painted dark blue with even less amenities than Souji's. She pursed her lips, thinking of what she said to her Master. She was sure she was not overbearing, or arrogant, but most of all… she did not think she acted out of line in the least when she said that it was unacceptable for Souji to save her if his life was in danger.

Aria had no one to talk to, but she still said, "I don't think I am in the wrong, but Master needs to know that he is more important than I am." The volume of her voice lowered when she added, "Much more important…"

* * *

><p><strong>Classroom 2-F, A few days later<strong>

The next few days had continued their monotony for Souji. The only interesting fact was that finals were nearing, only a couple of days away. Instead of studying, Souji had spent an evening searching for another Servant with Saber; he was not calling her Aria in this context. He spent an evening discussing magic with Rise, only to get a lecture on why he should not trust the ex-idol by his Servant while Rise was still standing there. Rise even agreed with his Servant even though the red-haired girl was the one talking with him. With his evenings occupied by searching for other Servants or discussing magic, Souji had no time to study for the finals. He would kiss his chances for the best grade of any 2nd year goodbye.

However, Souji spent his days walking to and from school with Fuuka; he even ate lunch with her on the rooftop each day as well. It was the only respite Souji had from the Holy Grail War or whatever it was called. Each day… Fuuka grew a little bolder each day, and a little less shy each time she spent her lunchtime up on the rooftop with Souji. If Fuuka was almost bold enough to try and hold his hand on the way home from school yesterday, who knew what she would try on the way home today. He just had to get through the morning classes, which meant lying through his teeth on why he did not finish Ms. Toriumi and Mr. Ekoda's assigned worksheets.

Souji was more than happy to leave the classroom behind when the morning classes ended. The only part that Souji thought was out of place when he left was that fellow Master in class 2-F was absent from school. Aigis, that fellow Master, was a girl with very short cut blond hair with a gold headband and a large red ribbon whose defining trait was the silky white gloves that covered her hands. Those features were what made her recognizable, that… and her well-endowed figure. She was also a Master who had attempted to kill him and almost succeeded. Aigis and her Servant were probably the people Souji had been looking the most vigorously for during those seemingly endless searches.

Thinking nothing of Aigis or the Holy Grail, Souji took a right out of his classroom, holding his typical green clothed-covered bento made by Fuuka. He expected Fuuka to be waiting for him as he walked up the steps leading to the rooftop. As he opened the door to the roof and gazed to the right where the two usually ate together, he saw that he was alone.

_Maybe she is not here yet._

Since he was by himself, Souji went over and sat down. He just unwrapped his lunch and pulled out his chopsticks. As he broke his utensils apart, he began to think…

_I wonder... should we just… I don't know… it might just help me forget about all of this shit._

Souji had not even lifted his first piece of tempura when the door opened. He expected to see Fuuka and he indeed saw the girl with very short green hair step through the doorway. However, she looked pale and lifeless as she walked towards Souji.

_Where is her lunch? Why does she look dead?_

Souji saw that Fuuka had forgotten her lunch or something like that. He was worried, however, by the fact that she did not look very well. She stepped, albeit shakily, towards Souji. The Master of Saber dropped his chopsticks when Fuuka stopped only a couple centimeters from his face. Only when Souji sat down was Fuuka taller than him, but as she stood over him now; he could feel her slow breathing against his face. Fuuka's green eyes bore straight into Souji's.

_What the hell…_

Souji blinked momentarily; it allowed him to look away from the short girl. By the door was the girl who had been missing from the school for the past few days. It was the same girl who sat right next to him in class 2-F. It was also the girl who was the Master of Assassin. It was Aigis.

Souji muttered, "Aigis-san…"

Aigis walked straight towards Souji and moved right to where Fuuka was standing. She whispered into the other girl's ear, so softly that Souji could not hear. At that, Fuuka moved to the side, leaving Aigis in front of Souji.

"What did you do to Fuuka-chan!" Souji tried to keep his voice at a controlled level, but there were hints of anger in his voice.

Aigis was not one to smile, and she was not smiling when she removed the glove on her right hand and reached out to Souji's face. When she attempted to touch Souji's cheek, Souji shied away. Aigis pulled her right hand away and said in a monotone voice, "Fuuka… she's just an example."

Souji's eyes squinted, "An example of what…?"

Aigis's eyes were intoxicating blue pools that stared straight into Souji. She stared straight into Souji's eyes as she said, "It's just an example of what I can do. What my Servant can do to her… and the rest of the school."

_What does that even mean!_

Souji had to resist a tremendous urge to try and kill Aigis right there on the rooftop at that very moment. "What do you mean by that!" he asked, trying to leave the venom out of his voice.

Souji could not tell Aigis's emotions as she said, "It means… that I will kill everyone in the whole school personally."

_What!_

"You kill everyone in the school!" Souji did not temper the volume of his voice this time around.

Aigis continued, "Unless you face me tomorrow evening… I will kill everyone in this school. Starting with… this girl…" Aigis gestured at the green-haired girl who had been brought up to the roof by Aigis.

Souji clenched his fist as he all but growled, "What's to stop me from killing you first… before you get the chance to kill everyone else?"

Aigis raised her ungloved palm, "I believe your skills do not lie in offensive arts. However, mine do…"

Souji's eyes widened as a pale samurai in dark red to burgundy armor appeared to the left of him. He felt the aura of Assassin driving him into the ground. Souji could hear a chink of one of the two blades being slightly pulled out. He nearly shuddered as Souji heard the regal voice from the Servant, "I am afraid that I will be forced to carry out my Master's orders if you make me."

"Tomorrow evening…?" Souji repeated Aigis's demands.

"Yes…," Aigis said, "At ten… tomorrow night… where you summoned Saber…" Souji did not flinch this time when Aigis touched his cheek with her ungloved hand. It was an extremely soft and delicate hand that brushed across his right side of Souji's face. However, it was rather unpleasant only because of the words that were spoken only a few moments ago.

Aigis turned away from Souji after touching his cheek, but not before she said, "Your face… it's soft." That really felt awkward, considering Fuuka was standing like a statue right next to her. She made a gesture and the samurai, Assassin, disappeared and most likely followed her towards the door leading down to the second floor. However, Aigis stopped and turned her head to say one last thing to Souji before she left the rooftop. She said, "If you try and bring that other girl… and Lancer with you during the fight. I will not hesitate to kill everyone."

_How the hell will you do that while fighting my Servant?_

As soon as the door closed, Fuuka blinked her eyes twice and looked around at her surroundings before giving a shocked look that was completely understandable. Her eyes locked with Souji and said in a small voice, "S… Souji-kun… how did I get here?" She looked panicked, "I… I was about to leave my classroom when the door opened…"

_What should I say to Fuuka? That Aigis… the girl I tried to say was nobody paralyzed you and brought you up here to threaten me into a duel to the death at that cinema? _

The bell rang for the end of lunch when Souji finally decided on what to do. He bit his lip and wrapped his arms around Fuuka to try and calm her down. "It's okay… just… don't worry about it."

"S… Souji-kun…," Fuuka's face was still one of shock, but the shock was from that Souji was holding her in his arms. Her face was a healthy shade of red as Souji released her. However, Souji's face was its natural color.

Souji exhaled before he said to the girl who had just been released by Aigis's curse or whatever it was, "You'll be late to classes if you don't go now."

"T… Thanks… Souji-kun," Fuuka said, still shaken as she turned away from Souji; her face was still red.

_I know I'll hear it from Minako later._

Souji wrapped up his bento after Fuuka left for classroom 2-E. He really did not want to go to his afternoon classes. After hearing Aigis threaten to kill everyone in the school if Souji did not fight her… going to class sounded pointless. Regardless, Souji made a listless trek down the stairs, a left and then a right into class 2-F. He was not the last person in his class to come in as Yosuke barely made it in before his math studies began.

_Aigis didn't show up..._

Souji did not even pay attention to the rest of his classes. His mind was far from focused as the voices of the various teachers and the students answering questions seemed far away and unimportant. At this point… they were unimportant. He just needed to get out of the classroom as soon as possible.

Souji could not leave the classroom as soon as the bell ended as he intended. It was because Yosuke stopped Souji before he could grab his bag and said to him, "Hey Souji… Can you believe how crazy these teachers are with all the homework they assigned? I mean… finals are the day after tomorrow!"

_Oh… you have to be kidding me…_ _Aigis set me up to screw up my finals as well…_

"Yeah… great…," Souji muttered.

"Man… I got to get to Risette…," Yosuke's eyes lit up as he made that statement.

_Rise… I wonder if I should talk to her about it… even though Aigis doesn't want her involved._

Souji decided that Yosuke's fascination with Rise was not as important as his need to talk with Rise about what had just happened between him and Aigis. He waved Yosuke off with a quick shrug and said something about having to go right away. Souji proceeded to grab his bag, stand up, and head out the door.

_Now, I just have to beat Yosuke to Rise._

With that thought in mind, Souji took a left and then a right down the stairs to the first floor. Souji had to only hope Rise was still in the hallway with the other 1st years. The mob of people that crowded around Rise each day lessened a bit by each day, mainly by having a regular boy with her each day; the regular boy in this instance being Yosuke.

Souji hurried into the row of the 1st year classrooms. He knew that Kanji should be around, though Kanji was not one of the ones who was chasing after her. Kanji would rather chase after Souji's Servant than ogle Rise. Therefore, Souji went towards Kanji's classroom and did his best to maneuver through a group of people that were crowded around the classroom.

Souji did not know how guys could act this way around women, actually he could… he saw action like this around Rise nearly everyday. Besides, girls were jealous of Rise, too. In fact, since Yosuke was not yet at Rise's side, he saw three guys confessing their undying love towards Rise. When Rise saw Souji waiting at the doorway, she ignored him at first. She proceeded to subtly decline their professions of love.

_I have to get Rise's attention before Yosuke gets here._

Souji raised his right hand sideways up to his shoulder. The girl with dark red hair in twin ponytails down to her shoulders looked towards the silver-haired second year again, and this time; she stood up with her bag in hand. She headed straight towards Souji and stopped right in front of him.

Before she could tell him something, most likely to chide him about the arrangement that he had, Souji said in a serious tone, "We need to talk…"

Rise nodded. She seemed to understand that Souji meant business. "Alright…," Rise responded, "Let's go…"

To the surprise of many wide-eyed first to third-years, Souji walked away from the classroom with Rise following. Souji still had to deal had to make his way through a small throng of boys that had come to see Rise, but after that; he turned out of the hallway to the main lobby of the school building. He was waiting for Rise to ask what Souji wanted to talk about, but so far the redhead had said nothing.

_We've dodged Yosuke… thank g… Oh… damn it!_

The pair had reached the shoeboxes when the fluffy-haired classmate of Souji's had called out to Rise, "Risette!"

"Oh… Yosuke-kun…," Rise simultaneously pulled out her shoes and responded to Yosuke.

"Sorry, I'm late…," Yosuke apologized.

"Actually, I need to talk to Souji-kun about something," Rise tried to sound apologetic, "Do you mind if I walk home with him today?"

Yosuke looked really disappointed as he said, "Oh… okay…"

Souji finished changing his shoes, glad that Rise took care of getting rid of Yosuke for him. He had figured out why Rise had not said anything yet. She had probably guessed that what Souji wanted to talk about could be of a nature that was not for anyone who was not involved in this war.

Souji watched Rise change her shoes and start heading out her respective door before he followed the ex-idol down the long walkway towards the gate exit of Gekkoukan High. He could feel multiple pairs of eyes on him as he walked with Rise, but it was like that whenever he walked with a girl… except for Fuuka. At least, not as many pairs of eyes when he walked to and from school with Fuuka.

It was only when the two of them cleared the school gate did Rise turn to Souji and asked, "So what is this about, Souji-kun? You know we're enemies, right…"

"I know that…," Souji muttered, "I saw Aigis today…"

"Aigis…?" Rise's eyebrows rose, "She was at school?"

Rise knew that Aigis had not been at school for the past couple of days as well. Souji answered her, "She showed up at lunchtime while I was eating on the rooftop. I was supposed to meet with Fuuka, but…"

Souji started to explain the whole encounter with Aigis to Rise. He talked about how Aigis had possessed Fuuka in a way that probably related to mana loss. Souji described what Aigis wanted, as in a duel tomorrow evening at ten where they fought before. He explained the threat, the threat to kill everyone in school if he did not come to the duel.

Souji was running out of breath as he finished with one final word, "Oh… and if you try and attend the fight; she said that she will kill everyone for interfering."

If Rise was bothered by everything that Souji said, the ex-idol did not show it. At least, her body language did not show any signs of being worried about affected by the fact that Souji was being forced to fight for his life. She said something to Souji that made his eyes widen, "Well… one of my enemies will be eliminated…"

"R… Rise-chan…?" Souji suddenly stopped.

Rise stopped when Souji did, "Am I not telling the truth? You are my enemy, correct?"

"Well… yes… but…," Souji said. Souji did not really know how to respond. It was not a lie, but he did not want to hear that statement from Rise.

Rise took a step forward again in the direction of the shuttle before she said, "I mean… to tell the truth… you don't really stand a chance against Assassin. But… if you can weaken Assassin, it would make my life easier."

_What!_

Souji grabbed Rise's wrist before she could go any farther away from him. He wanted to know why. Rise spun around when she felt her right wrist enveloped by Souji's hand. He had never seen Rise that angry.

_I guess she doesn't like being touched._

"Let go of me… Souji-kun…," Rise's voice was not calm or sweet in her demands.

Souji released her wrist before he demanded, "I want to know why I am so disposable… and considered something you can throw away." Souji's face looked discontent as he asked, "Why do I have no chance…?"

Rise rubbed her wrist. Her face had softened as soon as Souji had released his grip. She sighed before she answered Souji, "I mean… personally, Aigis is more dangerous. If I had my way, I would rather have you kill Assassin."

"Right…," Souji muttered; he was not sure if he really believed her right now.

"Souji-kun…," Rise's face was back to its normal self as she continued, "Your magic… is very weak. Your magic… if it is weak… your Servant will be weak. If your Servant is weak; she will die tomorrow evening against Assassin. Since your magic is weak… Aigis will kill you before Assassin gets a chance to kill Saber."

_Blunt…_

"And what am I supposed to do about that?" Souji muttered.

When Rise started walking towards the shuttle this time, Souji did not stop her. Instead, he followed behind her, waiting to see what Rise would say next; he was unsure if Rise would even say anything.

Rise said nothing else to him, leaving his question unanswered, until the two of them sat down in their seats on the shuttle. It was only when the shuttle started on its way towards the dorm did the girl talk to Souji. She turned her head and said calmly, "Souji-kun… I have a way to help you, but… I don't know if I should."

"Why…?" Souji said, "Is it because it would make your enemy stronger?"

Rise waited a whole minute to answer. She finally said in a quiet voice, "I guess… that's part of it."

Souji sighed, sitting in silence. It was when the pair left the shuttle that Souji said one final word to Rise, "You don't have to help me… I'll deal with her myself."

Souji sped up and left Rise behind. Surprisingly, when Souji opened the door to enter the dorm, there was no one else in the lobby. He just walked past the L-shaped counter on the left and the three couches on the right. He went past the dining table to reach the stairs and up to the second floor. Moving down the burgundy carpet, Souji headed to the far room on the left. Inside his room, he headed straight for his desk and sat down.

If this was a normal year, he would have pulled out his school books to study for finals in a few days. Instead, he opened the drawer on the bottom left and pulled out a very large red tome. It was his magic tome… a tome he barely understood. Now, he had more of a reason to study than ever, so Souji opened the book and poured over spells that he could not decipher.

An hour later, Souji wiped his eyes and he knew just how right Rise was. Before Souji had summoned Saber, he had witnessed Aigis's immense skills in magic and her Servant had easily stopped his own. An hour of trying to learn a spell and he had gained nothing. His magical talent… was pathetic. If he did not try harder at learning and increasing his powers… Souji was going to be killed, his Servant along with him.

Souji took a deep breath and muttered, "Let's just keep going… I have a whole night and a few hours before this thing."

As Souji put his eyes back on the spell he had spent a whole hour trying to decipher, he heard his door open; it was a door he thought he locked. He heard a familiar voice from earlier today speaking. It was a soft female voice that said, "You'll never learn fast enough to make a difference in a fight, Souji-kun…"

"How do you know? Hmm…Rise-chan…," Souji muttered in a frustrated tone.

"She's right, Souji-kun…," the regal voice that affirmed what Rise said was one of a very regal person.

"Aria-senpai… do you really think so?" Souji said quietly while keeping his head towards the tome, "If you do… then what should I do?"

"Rise-chan told me everything...," Aria said, "I am afraid that there is only one thing we can do, and…"

Aria's voice had trailed off at the end. Souji turned around at the end of the statement as Rise continued in a calm voice, "I decided to help you out… just enough to help you fight Assassin. Whether you adjust enough and grow enough to beat Assassin in time… that's up to you…"

_She's helping me, but… huh?_

"I don't know how you would do that…," Souji said.

Rise blinked and reached into a pouch at her side; it was a pouch that Souji never noticed before. She pulled out a somewhat large rectangular red gem. She nodded before she said, "I am going to increase your magical output, which will increase the mana output to your Servant simultaneously. To do this… you need to eat this red gem…"

Souji held out his hand. He thought it would be simple, so he thought that he could just take it and swallow something that would probably be unpleasant to eat. It would probably be like swallowing a horse pill.

However, Rise shook her head as Aria moved away from the doorway and behind Souji. Souji had no idea why Aria did that, or why Rise had denied him the gem.

Rise said in a calm voice, "The thing is… it won't work… if you don't have any emotions while you eat it."

_What does she mean by that?_

Souji's eyes widened as Rise undid the bands on her ponytails, letting her hair down. Her voice was a little softer as she said,"The gem… I am going to give it to you now."

Souji took a deep breath as he took the large red gem in his hand from Rise. He slowly placed it in his mouth. As soon as the red gem touched the inside of his mouth, Souji felt extremely sick. He was sure that he was going to be sick. He had to blink because his vision was beginning to blur. He still could not fully swallow this red gem; it was lodged in the tip of his throat.

_What the hell is this? Is she poisoning me?_

In front of Souji, he heard the soothing voice of the girl with the dark red hair as she said, "You'll be okay, Souji-kun…"

Souji felt himself calming slightly as he felt the ex-idol, a Master; caress his cheek with fingers that were just as soft as Aigis's. Still, as nice as it felt to have Rise touch his face, Souji could still not swallow the gem. His vision was blurring; he could barely make out Rise. He could see the general outline of a girl, but no definitive features.

Souji was a little afraid. He heard another phrase from what he thought was Rise, "Just swallow for me…"

His throat finally cooperated as his lips connected ever so softly for only a moment with the first-year's lips. He would have blushed if he truly knew what was going on. Instead, Souji collapsed into Rise's arms.

"You're heavy… Souji-kun…," Rise said. Her face was a little pink, unlike Souji's, "I don't know if I can hold onto you."

From behind Souji, an unhappy Aria came up to Rise and Souji and took her Master from Rise. She said in a tone that expressed her displeasure as she held Souji by the shoulders, "Are you increasing his mana or transferring mana?"

"You know what I'm doing," Rise responded, "If I wanted to transfer mana… I would have kicked you out of the room."

Aria rolled her eyes, "Well… you can see that he's fine now. So, leave and let him get some rest."

"Are you going to watch over him?" Rise asked.

"Who else?" Aria questioned.

"Don't blame me if Mitsuru drags you out," Rise shook her head, still a little pink.

"Whatever you say…," Aria said as Rise left the room.

Aria struggled for a moment to get Souji into his bed. She proceeded to tuck him in. She would be lying to say she was not worried for him. She was surprised to hear about Aigis's challenge, but she welcomed it. No one would try and harm her Master and get away with it. She flattened out the covers before she reached out her right hand towards Souji. Right before it touched his cheek, she pulled her hand back. She did not want to…

She muttered, "I can not…" She shook her head, "Still… I can worry for him."

She reached out her hand again when Souji murmured in his sleep, "Rise-chan…"

Hearing Souji mention Rise; it forced Aria to pull her hand back and bite her lip. She was not sure why she lifted her hand back for the second time in a row. She exhaled and took a step back so she could leave. It was then that Souji murmured, "Aria-senpai…"

Aria stopped her thoughts of leaving as soon as Souji said her name. Instead, she sat down next to the bed and pulled her knees close to her chest. She hoped that Souji would wake up soon.

* * *

><p>I want you to know that I don't want you to be nitpicky about being canon and stuff! I hope you enjoy your read. I've been busy and the only way to clear my schedule is to write my mini-ethnography for me, which I am sure you don't want to do. Auf Wiedersehen everyone.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6 A Duel for the Servant

_**Chapter 6**_

_**A Duel for the Servant**_

_Thoughts_

I own nothing but my lack of creativity. I do not own anything to do with Fate/anything or Persona.

It's Souji mainly because Golden is not out and Ultimate is not out. Also, anime is not worthy of mentioning. Besides, Souji has been added to my spell check. I use first names because… I am writing in English for this story. If you want Japanese, I am not in the mood today or tomorrow. I will, however, use –san and –chan and whatever else if it refers to the Persona characters because this is Tatsumi Port Island (P3 world). I will go with how the games use the names.

Servants will be 'Personas' and the Personas will not match up to the Personas in their respective games. If I said this would not be just a little AU on personalities on the Masters and locations, I would have you send me to the nearest mental institution. If I don't take other liberties with a few things, not gender, but slight variations on weapons and appearances… I would still be struggling on what Servants would be what. They have to be humanoid, yes? Yes, girl servants will have boy masters and vice-versa.

I will use my skills in German and then bastardize it for the spells.

Relationships? Haven't decided on it…

I'll be using Saber said, "… when it has to do anything about being a Servant. It'll be Aria said, "… when it has to be being human-like." Why? I like being confusing or maybe… I like making Saber human-like?

* * *

><p><strong>Dorm, Souji's Room, Morning<strong>

Souji's dreams were filled with anguish and torment as he slept. He dreamed that Aria, who was his Servant Saber, dying at the hands of Assassin and Aigis. He saw his Servant, her thin glasses askew and her very long shimmering black hair disheveled as she lay on the floor with her lifeblood splattered among the ground of Tatsumi Port Island. He imagined that Rise had joined the fight and Aigis had taken her life. Rise's dark red hair in twin ponytails was the same shade as the blood that spilled from her body as Aigis tore her apart. Souji dreamed that Aigis had destroyed the school because of Rise's interference. He saw Fuuka's dead body and Mitsuru's dead body. He saw Akihiko, Chie, and Kanji… all of them dead. Souji was tormented inside at seeing everyone die… they died at his ineptitude. It was a never-ending cycle of watching Souji's Servant and his friends die repeatedly.

Souji awoke suddenly in a cold sweat. He felt that the sheets and covers were twisted slightly. He knew that his dreams were anything but good, but he had to bring himself to remember why he was asleep in the first place. It was because…

_Yeah… Rise said I wasn't strong enough. She made me eat this red gem thingy. I couldn't see… so she… kis…_

Souji remembered everything, and probably why he had the dreams of Aigis killing Aria, Rise, and the rest of the students in the school. When he first explained the situation to Rise, she almost said that it would be okay if Souji died. Souji actually got in a mini-argument with Rise about why he would die and if there was any way he could survive. Souji had futilely tried to study by himself when Rise had reluctantly come to his room. She had decided to help him by giving him a red gem thing to increase his magical power or whatever. However, when he tried to eat it; he struggled to swallow it. He felt like he was going to collapse and his vision was blurring after he ate that gem. The last moment Souji had before he finally collapsed was him finally swallowing the gem. Right before that, Souji felt Rise Kujikawa brushing her lips across his.

_I don't even think I recognized that when that happened… No wonder she didn't want to help me…_

Souji wondered if this was another reason that Rise did not want help him. They were enemies after all. They were enemies that could possibly have to kill each other. He could not imagine killing someone like Rise after all of this. He knew Rise's Servant, Lancer, did not like him, but he did not want to fight him either.

Uneasiness of being helped by Rise aside, Souji felt another person besides his bed. He turned his head slightly to see an extremely beautiful young woman asleep against his bed. It was a tall girl around Souji's age with shimmering black hair that went down to her waist. She had the Gekkoukan uniform on, but her summer blouse accentuated her nice curves and her skirt was maybe a little shorter than expected. The girl's thin hands rested against the side of the pillow as her head lay on top of them. Her glasses, a defining feature of this girl, were on the nightstand. This girl, the one who was lying against Souji's side, was his Servant. Her name in the war was Saber, but she had been christened, 'Aria', for all other matters. Souji preferred that name by far.

_I… kind of want to lift my hand out of the cover and touch hers… I know her hand has to be as soft as Rise's… or Aigis's._

Before Souji had a chance to make up his mind about whether to pull his arm out of the cover or not, his Servant slowly opened her eyes and met Souji's gray eyes with her own brown orbs. Souji was not quite surprised, but he was a bit taken aback as Aria gave him a look closer to a smile. She pushed herself up and moved up to the only window in the room. As she pulled the curtains, Souji winced as the sun rained down onto his eyes. Aria smiled as she said, "You slept all night and into late morning. Rise-chan and I had to tell Mitsuru-san that you were sick and that I had to take care of you."

"Ohh…," Souji said. It was all he could tell Aria as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. He was still in the clothes he was wearing yesterday; he felt a bit grungy because he did have a chance to shower last night.

Aria's emotions changed in an instant to one of concern as she asked, "How do you feel?"

He saw his Servant move away from the curtains to pull his desk chair away from the desk and sit down. Souji thought for a moment before he answered, "I guess I feel… okay. I'm still a little tired."

Aria nodded, "If I had my way, I would have had you sleep a few more hours. Unfortunately, we don't have that luxury."

Souji saw Aria's face, especially as he stared into her brown eyes. It truly looked concerned about Souji's well being. He asked, "There's something wrong… isn't there?"

Aria pursed her lips as she said, "You are not in peak condition, yet you have to combat Assassin in less than twelve hours."

"You mean that you have to fight Assassin…," Souji responded.

Aria said, "Fine… you have to take care of Aigis." She asked, "Are you prepared to kill her then?"

_Kill Aigis…? I mean… she threatened to kill everyone in school… and she possessed Fuuka, but kill her? _

Souji was not sure how to answer his Servant's question. Souji had watched another Servant, Lancer; he watched Lancer kill Archer's Master at the Paulownia Mall. Though, Souji had no idea if he could kill another Master, especially a Master like Aigis.

"You are not prepared to take her life, are you?" Aria said. She stared into his eyes, "I can tell from facial features. You are not prepared to kill your classmate."

"I… I'm not as strong as Lancer and Rise-chan… I guess," Souji shook his head.

"I wonder…," Aria nodded, "It could be the fact that Rise-chan did not know Archer's Master." She continued, "I don't know, but… Rise-chan; I believe she is much more sympathetic than most Masters. I believe if she was not all but unconscious; Lancer would never have been given the chance to kill that Master. He was acting out of pure anger."

"I see…," Souji said. He bit his lip before he asked, "Could you kill Aigis then?"

Aria spent a second before she answered, "I have never met her, but since I have a feeling that you do not wish for me to kill her; I do not believe I would kill her unless I would have to. If she threatened your life, which she might do tonight; I would not hesitate to end her."

_She is pretty dedicated… to protecting me._

As Aria stood up from the desk chair and moved to the nightstand to put on her glasses. Souji did not really think she needed those. He asked, "Do you actually need to wear glasses?"

Aria shook her head, "I am not nearsighted or farsighted, if that is what you are asking…"

"Then… why?" Souji asked.

_Rise said that it was because my magical skills relate to her appearance._

"I believe it does relate to the Master's personality and the skills of the Master," Aria answered, "But… it mainly relates to what the Master wants us to be."

_So… I wanted Aria to be… Aria? Aria looks like she does because I wanted her to look like that? _

When Souji did not speak right away, Aria continued, "You summoned a Saber Servant, instead of anyone else, because of your personality."

"So… if you were summoned by someone else," Souji said, "You might look different, even if you were still yourself?"

"There could be slight differences in my personality, but most things about me would be the same," Aria said. She smiled, "I don't think I'd be pretending to wear glasses, however."

_I still don't get it…_

Souji threw off his covers, but was stopped just after he threw his feet over the side of his bed. "If you're going to start getting ready to study for tonight, you clean up and I'll bring you something to eat…," Aria said.

"T… thanks…," Souji replied.

Aria shook her head before she said, "It's nothing… Fuuka-chan made something for you in case you were feeling good enough to have lunch."

"Oh…," Souji said, "That sounds good…"

"I'll be back in a minute then…," Aria said. She nodded before she left the room.

As the door shut behind Aria, Souji sighed. He went to the sink on the near side of his room by the door. He washed his face and began cleaning himself up. Souji had no idea where to begin with this fight. He had a battle in a few hours where he had to study from a large tome that he did not understand.

_I can't kill Aigis… but she's gonna kill me. I just have to hope that Aria is now strong enough to take on Assassin._

Souji adjusted his hair, but it was futile. He would need to wash it later. At the very least, he was going to change out of the clothes he was wearing, so Souji stripped off the pants and shirt that he had been sleeping in. He put the dirty clothes off to the side, by the nightstand. Souji would clean it up later.

Souji took a pair of casual black pants and a white polo out of his dresser drawer by his sink and the door. As Souji was putting on his fresh clothes… Aria walked into the room holding a small bowl of soup. She stopped in her tracks as Souji hurriedly finished dressing, a bit of red forming on his cheeks.

"I'm sorry…," Aria said before she placed the bowl, which appeared to be miso soup, on the far left side of the desk, "I should have knocked…"

"It's okay…," Souji reassured her. The tinge on his cheeks immediately disappeared.

Souji sat down in his chair, moving the soup to the right side of the desk so it would be easier for him to eat. Aria said, "Well… if it makes you feel better… I feel nothing towards you."

_I don't think that is supposed to help. She's still a girl._

"Uhh…," Souji did not really know what to say, so he said nothing in particular.

Aria brushed a little of her long black hair out of her eyes and added, "I am not a human, if you remember me telling you this. I am only a weapon for you to wield and a shield to stand in front of you."

_Yet, you're still a girl… or at least you're the visage of one. It's not the walking in on me while I'm putting on my shirt; it's not knocking. Apparently, she would not care if I walked in on her, but Rise probably would… maybe… _

Souji decided to put this incident behind him, at least try to. Before he would eat the food that Fuuka had made, and Aria apparently heated up; he did not know exactly what had transpired in the food-making process… Souji opened up the lower left drawer of his desk and pulled out the large red tome that contained every spell the silver-haired young man did and did not understand. He opened the book to the page that he was looking at last night; it was the page he had been studying futilely before Rise came in and 'increased' his magical ability. As he took a spoonful of soup, he gazed intently on the same spell as before, as he hoped to see something new in the foreign-looking runes.

Within thirty seconds, however, Aria interjected as she said, "I need to rest for a few minutes… to prepare for tonight's fight."

Souji nodded while not taking his eyes off the tome, "If that's what you need to do…"

"I will be back in no later than an hour…," Souji's Servant explained, as she pushed up her thin-rimmed glasses.

In the hallway of the second floor, Aria thought about her actions. She walked away from the far room towards the stairs as she wondered if her actions were influenced by something beyond the surface. Aria headed up to the third floor and opened the door to her sparsely-decorated room. As she moved towards the far side of the room, she glanced over to the left side of the living quarters. A pole arm stood in the corner; it was an extension of her arm. Alongside Aria's bed were golden bracers with a loophole for her to place her middle finger in, as well as a dented bronze shield and golden half-helmet. The damage to the shield was courtesy of Assassin, the opponent she would be facing tonight.

As she sat down on her bed, she muttered aimlessly, "I feel a stronger connection with my Master… so Rise's ritual or technique clearly worked. I just… Is it bothering me for some reason?" She bit her lip, "I should have knocked…"

She was worried, very worried about the fight. She felt stronger, and she was sure that her Master was stronger too. Yet, it was the Servant and Master that they had to fight that bothered her. If Souji was under pressure to kill Aigis, could he do it? She would have to do it… and she would probably be stopped before she took Aigis's life because of Souji's second Command Seal.

Aria propped up her pillow as she rested her back against the backboard of her bed. She had rested all night, staying at Souji's bed. However, she still a little tired. Any weariness or possible chance of her not being at peak efficiency would result in her dying tonight. She needed to be ready… to try and pull off her Noble Phantasm if necessary. It would weaken her for a short while, but if it was necessary.

Meanwhile, Souji poured over the tome; he completely ignored the fact that he would probably be failing his finals that started tomorrow morning. He just wanted to get one new spell translated. If that could happen… he would stand a chance against Aigis.

He ate his soup in silence; he knew he had only hours to understand a multitude of spells. His bowl was emptied in a few minutes, and nothing had changed. Souji brushed his silver hair back in frustration. It was not that he would disappoint Aria or anyone else if he failed. It was that if he failed; it was likely that he would die.

Souji wanted to throw the red spell book against the wall, and he was moments from doing so when Rise knocked on the door. Souji had no chance to reply on whether it was okay for her to enter because she opened the door and said, "Hey Souji-kun!" with a mischievous smile.

_Does no one freakin' wait for me to say it was okay to come in? What if I was busy changing? In bed with Fuuka? Ha! Hell… Did she come home early…?_

"Umm… hey, Rise-chan," Souji did not even turn his head in his response.

Rise frowned as she said, "I pretended to be sick and came home early for this? You think you'd be happy to see me."

"It's not that," Souji sighed, "I'm just frustrated…"

"Frustrated…?" Rise walked up right behind Souji's right shoulder and looked straight at the book Souji had been studying for a while now. She said, "Working hard?"

Souji shook his head and shut the book, half in frustration and half in annoyance. He muttered, "Not hard enough… I guess."

"You still have some time…," Rise tried to cheer him up, "Don't give up yet." She reached around Souji and opened the book. Her soft hands brushed against his as the book moved back to the same exact page it was at before he shut it in annoyance.

_Her hands really are soft…_

Souji turned his head slightly, looking straight at the girl with twin dark red ponytails and darker eyes. He asked, "How does she plan on killing everyone in the school if you show up? Is it possible?" He added, "How can she kill students during the evening?"

Rise thought about the situation. She had nearly if not more magical ability than Aigis, so she thought about how it was possible for Aigis to pull off this technique. She answered Souji slowly and calmly, "If Aigis plans on threatening you, she would have placed rune glyphs around the school that would first paralyze the students like it did Fuuka. The thing is, these rune glyphs are a two-headed monster because it eventually drains their mana and kill them."

"Is she planning on paralyzing them during school so she can kill them during the night if needed?" Souji raised his eyebrows, "You got out just in time…"

"It's because it's the amount of mana I have," Rise explained, "You probably would have escaped it, too."

_So does that mean…_

"We will have to see if anyone comes back from school this afternoon…," Rise remarked frankly.

_So… Fuuka, Yosuke, and the others… they might not even come home from school Aigis could kill them at will._

Souji shook his head, but still looking at Rise, "Are you worried?"

Rise's voice caught in her throat. Eventually she said, "I… I don't really care. It is your fight after all."

_Yet, you helped me by increasing my mana capacity, so you have to care a little._

Souji said, "You do want me to win. Save me for last because I'd be the easiest to take care of…"

Rise scowled before she said to Souji, "I don't know…" She stepped back from Souji so he could look at more than at her face clearly. She continued, "Remember, it's my Servant dealing with yours."

Souji breathed in slightly before he said, "So, I'm just an afterthought…"

"I didn't say that…," Rise shook her head and flushed slightly.

_Hmm…_

Souji turned his head back to the tome before he muttered, "So we wait to see who comes back from school?"

Souji did not hear Rise's answer, but he knew it was an affirmation of Souji's question. The reason why Souji was distracted was because Souji had suddenly figured out one of the spells in the red tome. Out of the blue, it made sense to him. Souji was not sure why he decided to test out his new spell in his room, but he made his choice anyways. He still said, "Spiegeln meine seele. Beschütze mich vor mein feind." (Reflect my soul. Protect me from my enemy.)

Souji's use of the spell caused a similar technique to the spell that Rise used to protect Souji against Aigis the first time around, except the bubble that formed around him was blue instead of pinkish-red. Unfortunately, using it caused the chair that Souji was sitting in to fall back with Souji in it. He gasped as he fall and Rise, jumped back with a half-scream because she was still standing very close behind him.

After Souji landed with a large thud; Rise called out, "Souji-kun! Are you alright!

Souji put his hand on the back of his head. He was sure there would be a large lump somewhere near his cerebellum. He answered slowly, obviously in pain, "I'm okay…"

"You fell so hard…," Rise said in a caring manner; her hand was near her mouth.

_And she says she is not supposed to care about me because we're fighting._

Rise continued, "That spell you used… it looks like mine, but it's different somehow. How though…?"

_It was blue… not pink._

"I don't know what it does...," Souji slowly picked himself up, picking up his chair in the process. He shook his head, "I think it might… reflect magical attacks instead of just protecting a Master from them."

Rise raised her right eyebrow, "I don't think it would be able to reflect all magic. With your amount of skill, I doubt you could block and reflects the stronger attacks."

_She's probably right._

"As long as it reflects Aigis-san's…," Souji whispered.

Rise must have heard him because she nodded. She said, "I remember her skills and you should at least be able to stop those fireballs."

_I just wished I had an attack skill of my own._

"Now I just need to learn something to attack with…," Souji said. He looked at the ex-idol; her red pigtails went slightly past her shoulders. Yesterday, she let her hair down right before she kissed him softly to calm him down.

Rise responded, "The best start to your offense is a good defense. If you can defend yourself… you allow your Servant to fight without worries." She looked extremely serious with the last statement.

"You're probably right…," Souji nodded.

Souji shut his magical tome. He opened the bottom left drawer and put the tome back inside. He could have studied longer, but if it took this long to learn one spell; it would be impossible to learn anything more before 2200. He turned back to Rise, but he had no idea what else to say to her. There was just little else to do and say before it was time to go, so he just stared at her.

It had the expected effect on Rise, with Souji staring at her intently. Her cheeks reddened a little more with every second Souji looked at her face. She finally looked away and said to him in a timid voice, "Souji-kun… why are you staring? What is it?"

Souji was surprised he kept his eyes on Rise's face, or whatever you call the part of the head after she turned away from his gaze. He did not really have a reason for his actions, but he answered, "I just… I don't know…" Souji was lost for words. He guessed that he felt ashamed about it.

"I'm gonna go, Souji-kun…," Rise said hurriedly, "I'll go to the school to make sure everyone gets out before heading to the port after you defeat Aigis-san."

Her face was still a little pink as she opened and shut the door behind her. Souji felt bad, but he sat down on his bed, regardless. He placed his hands behind his head and lay back on his pillow. If there was nothing else to do before he was to fight Aigis and her Servant, then he could just rest. The spell he had used, the magical reflection; it had tired him out a little. It was his first usage and the focus from studying the tome that might have tired Souji somewhat. He closed his eyes…

Three hours later, Souji's door was opened sharply and closed by his Servant. He was woken sharply by a rap on the right shoulder. Souji shook his head to see his Servant clad in full armor and weaponry. He saw his Servant with the black hair that went down past her waist and thin-rimmed glasses clad in gold-inlaid bracers, gold-inlaid half-helmet that allowed her black hair to run down to her waist, and her bronze pole arm in her off-hand. Her school uniform, she had changed into a lavish cream-colored dress that Souji had not seen since he first summoned her. If Souji had to describe the look of Aria in her battle regalia…

_Sexy…_

"Aria-senpai…," Souji murmured.

Aria held out a finger, "From now on… well, at least until we take care of Assassin. Call me Saber."

Souji almost looked a little disappointed, but her statement was to be expected. In battle, Aria was not a proper name for his Servant. He summonsed a Saber and she wanted to be referred to as Saber. Aria was just a joke name made up by another Master as a cute little diversion to hide the fact that there was a weapon-wielding woman living amongst them. Aria, the name, would have to wait until after Aigis was defeated.

_Hopefully, after we defeat her Servant. I am… not… hurting… Aigis._

"How soon until we leave?" Souji asked, as he stood up and started to look for his shoes.

"As soon as we can…," Aria responded, "There are not really many options for dinner because…"

"No one came home from school and Rise-chan went searching for a way to release them…," Souji finished.

Aria nodded, "I am unsure what you want to do about dinner, or anything in relation to it."

Souji sighed, "Let's just get moving…" He looked away from his Servant; she was stunning. He looked at his dented bat for a moment before he decided to leave it behind. It would serve no purpose in this fight.

Souji's Servant's presence in battle gear was unnoticed in the dorm only because there were no others in the building besides Saber's Master. The two of them moved down the stairs, past the dining table, and past the wooden l-shaped counter and three plushy couches that formed a c-shape. As Souji opened the door for Saber, he saw the red orb in the sky had started to fall below the horizon, leaving the coloration of the world a beautiful collage.

_I kind of wish that Rise-chan was here to see us off or something like that. It's lonely._

Souji was thankful that the shuttle to the meeting place was empty, at least their car was. Seeing Saber in regalia like that would scare the daylights out of anyone besides the Masters or Servants. He was nervous as well, so he practically kept his eyes shut and spoke very little to Saber as they rode towards the cinema. As he sat across from her, Souji became more nervous. He did not want to fight; he did not want either of them to get hurt.

The moment the two of them stepped off the Iwatodai shuttle and moved down the stairs towards the cinema, someone was already waiting for Souji by the movie theater. It was the girl that attacked Souji before he had ever summoned Saber. The girl's name was Aigis. She was memorizing in her own right with very short blond hair and a golden headband. Her Gekkoukan school uniform was nowhere in sight, and in its place were clothes that nearly made Souji bleed from his nose. Her battle suit white pants and shirt were so skintight that it left absolutely nothing to the imagination. It was downright… criminal. Souji turned pink at seeing her in that outfit for the second time. However, even that was not her most memorable trait. It was the deep light blue pools that were Aigis's mesmerizing. Her eyes had such an effect that were so powerful that she used them to keep Souji in one spot long enough to try and shoot fire at him last time they met.

Souji tore his eyes away from the seductive member of 2-F and back to his Servant and said, "Saber… Are you ready?"

Saber only nodded as a reply. She readied the pole arm on her right arm halfway up the haft and walked straight past her Master. When she made it five steps past the silver-haired young man, Souji said to her, "Be careful…"

Saber stopped in her tracks. She did not turn around but she still responded to his statement, "I will be by your side if you need it. Stay safe… Souji-kun." Souji could not see the emotion on her face, but he heard the care in Saber's voice.

As Souji watched Saber advance in a direction slightly away from Aigis, he started towards the young woman with the skintight clothing. As Souji stopped less than a meter from Aigis, he said to her, "I showed up, Aigis-san. Are you satisfied?"

Aigis's voice was monotone, but he saw a slight smile appear as she replied, "Of course… this is how the Holy Grail War is supposed to go."

"Rise Kujikawa is not here… as you requested," Souji reassured her.

Aigis nodded, "I will not have to eliminate the students, then." She added, "Though, I am guessing she is attempting to free the students as we speak."

_Damn… she's smart…_

Aigis's smile was apparent as she continued, "I will let her continue. If I let this attack go through, I will increase Assassin's power to a point where no Servant could touch him in a one-on-one fight." She closed the distance to Souji after that statement before Souji react. She touched his right cheek like she had done so many times before. Souji, who had recoiled the last time she touched his face, did not flinch. Her smile widened slightly as a chill went through Souji's spine.

"What is it that you want?" Souji muttered as Aigis removed her fingers but only stepped back half the distance as before, "It can not be as much as defeating Saber."

"I can not disclose that information…," Aigis's smile disappeared at her statement. Souji knew that this was something beyond touchy, "That's classified."

"Are you going to kill me? Or try to kill me?" Souji took a deep breath.

"I can not… disclose that information," Aigis repeated the statement, "That's classified."

"Why is it classified?" Souji tried to dig deeper. He knew something was at work.

"That's… classified…," Aigis repeated.

_Damn… I feel like I'm watching…_

"Are we done…?" Aigis asked. Her tone was drab, but Souji could tell she was getting annoyed.

"I guess so…," Souji answered. He kept his eyes away from certain parts her skintight clothes and her eyes. Souji did not want to be entranced again... or bleeding to death.

Aigis snapped her right middle finger and thumb together. She normally wore thin white gloves, but her hands were bare for fighting. She did not wear gloves for her magical skills. With the snap of her fingers, Souji's eyes darted towards his Servant, where a man started to appear in front of her. The pale man was clad in dark reddish samurai-esque armor with an oddly-shaped kabuto. He had two long swords at his waist, especially made for his quick attacks. This was Aigis's Servant, Assassin.

The two Servants were a few meters away from Souji and Aigis. The newly-appeared Assassin faced down Saber and said to her, "So we meet again…" He shifted one of his scabbards, "It is unfortunate that we have to fight each other like this."

"I have never met an Assassin as noble as you," Saber responded, "Usually… they are a little more… secretive… in their actions."

"I am fighting an honorable opponent myself," Assassin explained, "Besides… my Master has better intentions then you think."

"So I am supposed to believe…," Saber replied darkly. She brushed aside a small amount of her long black hair that had gotten into her eyes.

"You can believe whatever you wish," Assassin said as he slowly drew one of his blades.

"I hope you will understand if I have to abandon our duel momentarily to kill your Master…," Saber swung her pole arm to her side so she could hold it out diagonally towards the ground.

"And I hope you understand if I do not let you," the samurai-looking Servant responded, holding the blade straight towards Saber.

Saber's right hand moved three-fourths of the way up the haft and her left hand grabbed one-fourth of the way down the haft of her weapon. She took a deep breath and closed half the distance between her and her opponent. A diagonal strike from top right to bottom left closed the distance, but it was parried by Assassin's blade. Assassin drew his other blade and struck forward with a vertical strike meant to cleave Saber in half, but Souji's Servant stepped back just enough that the blade missed by a centimeter. However, Assassin's other blade slid off her pole arm and moved around for his own diagonal strike. Saber was forced to block with her haft, sword almost touching her hands. She struggled mightily to push the sword away from her weapon.

Saber took a deep breath and braced herself with her right foot before she stepped forward with her left, at the same time she sliced down vertically. The bronze weapon was blocked by both of Assassin's swords in a diagonal position before it could touch Assassin's kabuto. He responded by driving the pole arm up and away, until he forced Saber off-balance. Saber's left hand slipped off her weapon as Assassin's two blades sliced horizontally across her waist. She tried to step back, but it was only enough to prevent her from being completely cut in half. There were still long gashes in her cream-colored dress and two long nearly parallel cuts in her torso.

Saber bit her lip; she was in obvious pain as she held her pole arm exclusively in her right hand. Assassin did not give Saber a chance to rest, being noble or not; he charged straight towards her. Repeated strikes from every angle forced Souji's Servant back. She was in a constant defensive position as the only advantage she had was the longer reach of her weapon was able to keep the two weapons that Assassin wielded at a distance. Her long black hair flew into the hair as she spun to meet a downward strike from one of the swords that was followed by a lunge from the six (upper right) by the other blade. She knew it would only be a matter of time; it would only be a matter of time until Assassin pulled out his Noble Phantasm and tried to finish her off.

* * *

><p><strong>A few meters away<strong>

While the two Servants were fighting, Souji had kept his eyes loosely on Aigis, not trying to focus on any one part of her. He would not be entranced by her blue eyes or her seductive figure. However, as the battle started to turn for the worse between Assassin and Saber… Souji tore his eyes away from Aigis and towards the black-haired Servant. Saber had hit the ground from a heavy blow that had cut into her left shoulder. Souji wanted to help her; the two intertwining tattoos that curled up from his left hand to his forearm screamed to be used.

"Saber!" Souji suppressed his loudest tones, but his yell was still at a high volume.

"Don't even thinking about using a Command Seal, or running to help her…," Aigis interrupted Souji. Her words forced Souji to look back at Assassin's Master.

_That's right… she will kill everyone._

Souji ignored whatever warnings his brain was telling him and stared straight at Aigis. He locked eyes with her, waiting for the blond-haired young woman to make a move. She raised her right hand and the slightest smile formed on her face. However, he heard the softest words, "I'm sorry…"

_What!_

With Aigis's right hand, her fingers extended straight towards him, Souji knew exactly what was coming. He heard the next words that came from Aigis's mouth, and they were not an apology. Aigis's voice was much clearer as she called out, "Flammen der Hölle… Fliegen Wahr!" (Flames of Hell! Fly True!)

_Oh shit!_

The same flames from the first time he met her, bullets of fire that had nearly seared him to death earlier, flew at Souji at an incredibly high speed. Souji barely had time to breath and roll out of the way. He still had singed pants when he stood up. Though, as soon he got his bearings, more flames came his way.

Souji decided that he could not waste any more time with Aigis as the heat from concentrated fire bullets streaked past his head. As the next barrage approached the second-year with short silver hair, he took a deep breath and shut his eyes. He muttered the words that he had translated only a short time ago, "Spiegeln meine seele. Beschütze mich vor mein feind." (Reflect my soul. Protect me from my enemy.)

The blue sheen and resulting bubble that enveloped Souji surrounded him just before the flames hit his body. The fire, which almost looked like comets, did not disperse on impact like they had when the flames struck Rise's shield. This time, the flames struck the shield, appeared to dissipate, and then reappeared to fly back at Aigis at an even faster rate than they did before.

Aigis's eyes widened as her attack was reflected. She was so surprised that she had trouble getting out of the way… so much trouble that she did not move at all. The next time Aigis's body moved was when the flames burned her arms and legs, shredding the skintight white outfit.

Souji was surprised how little Aigis's expression changed; she barely expressed pain with the smallest exclamation of anguish. He still watched Aigis fall to her knees as her legs and arms turned red.

_It had to have hurt worse than she's showing…_

Souji had no attack skills, but Aigis did not look like she was not going to shoot anymore fire at him. She did not even lift her hand to attack him after seeing her own flames strike her. She might have been in such shock at being hit by her own attack she did not want to chance being struck again. Souji advanced towards her, closing the distance between them.

_I actually don't think I have the mana to reflect another attack right now._

As he closed the distance, Souji had the chance to finish off Assassin's Master here and now.

* * *

><p><strong>Back with the Servants<strong>

Saber was limping slightly after being struck and knocked down for the second time a few meters in front of the floral shop. The second time, she received a medium-sized gash on the right leg; it forced her to one leg where Assassin was free to backhand her with the other sword. The only reason Assassin was not able to finish Saber was because Souji's Servant lifted her weapon to block a vertical slash. It forced her weapon down because of the weaker grip on Saber's weapon, but Assassin was unable to kill Souji's Servant. In frustration, the samurai-esque Servant allowed Saber to return to her feet.

However, as soon as the female Servant with the cream-colored dress and golden bracers braced herself, Assassin held both swords to his opposing sides and began wavering; his form phasing into multiple selves. He said, "This is the end… I'll see you, but you won't see me."

"He's going to use his Noble Phantasm…," Saber muttered and proceeded to hold her pole arm in both hands horizontally. The left hand's grip was not as strong due to the wound on her left shoulder.

One Assassin turned into three, and then eventually into eight red-armored Servants with twin blades. The action of phase-shifting; it was the action he took before he started his Noble Phantasm, 'Hassou Tobi'. It was the fastest Noble Phantasm Saber had seen.

"I only have to pay attention and find the one…," Saber muttered as the eight Assassins appeared to point their right blades straight at her in unison.

"It's been an honor to fight you," Assassin said in his regal tone before he seemed to disappear; his only trace that could be followed was a flash of the left blade from the eight.

Saber barely moved her weapon to try and block, but the blood spurted from her other leg. The real Assassin had come from the nine o'clock position to cut into the bottom of her light-colored dress. Saber stumbled and grimaced as the fourth wound suffered this fight took its toll on her stamina.

Assassin shook his head; he was obviously slightly frustrated that he had missed a major artery with his last strike. He did not waste anymore time with chivalrous remarks, but instead began shifting into eight Servants again. Assassin wanted to finish this off in one more use of his Noble Phantasm.

Saber looked at the eight pale figures that first surrounded her, and then started running around her, blades extended in the young woman with the long black hair's direction. She would not be able to guess which one was going to strike her, or where she would be hit.

"Forgive me Souji-kun…," Saber muttered, "I have to use it…"

Saber lifted her pole arm with her right arm until it was reaching out towards the sky. It appeared that she was trying to touch the moon. The result of these actions was that the bronze pole arm was starting to glow silver. The glow spread from the pole arm to Saber's whole body, illuminating her long black hair and golden armor with a silver sheen.

Assassin and the other seven doppelgangers did not seem to notice or care about the change in her as he continued to run around Saber at a high speed. Saber said in a voice that belonged to a queen, "I am the wisest of all women, so I shall do my duty and guide you to your rightful destination. That destination… is death…"

The silver light that had come from the pole arm suddenly flowed down in the four cardinal directions. The light intensified until it became four concentrated streams of energy. The four streams of flew at torso-level and stopped the Assassins in their tracks. The streams started spinning; it caused the seven fake Servants to disappear, leaving only one pale-faced armored Servant right in front of Saber. There were silver burns on his armor and skin.

For the first time in the fight, Assassin looked worried as the four streams of energy lightened, but Saber lowered her pole arm towards the opposing Servant. Saber's brown eyes flashed silver as the pole arm turned an even brighter silver color and the tip of the weapon started shaking violently.

"So this is how it is…," Assassin said softly, lowering both of his blades.

Saber nodded silently, "This is… how it is…"

From the tip of the pole arm came a searing shot of pure white energy. It struck Assassin straight between the eyes and he slowly fell backwards to the hard ground beneath him. Almost as soon as he hit the ground he started to disappear. He dissipated into nothingness.

Saber's weapon finally stopped shaking after Assassin disappeared. She sheathed her weapon behind her back, but she was breathing extremely heavily. Saber's black hair billowed in the light breeze as she turned her head, "Souji-kun…"

* * *

><p><strong>With Aigis and Souji<strong>

"It's over…," Aigis muttered softly as Souji advanced with his fist raised.

Those words made Souji stop and lower his fist. He knew it could not mean that Aigis was going to cast magic again; she could not have the magical capability. It could only mean one thing…

_Saber!_

Souji turned his head to see a limping Saber who looked extremely tired. Souji looked around and saw no sign of Aigis's Servant. His Servant, the one with the shimmering long black hair that flowed out of the back of her half-helmet looked awful. Souji wanted to call out and make sure she was alright, but… he was sure she would only yell at him.

_She's still pretty, even with all the blood… Ahh! I need to focus on Aigis._

Souji turned back to Aigis and focused his attention on the girl with the very short blond hair and golden headband. He even spent a second gazing into the deep light blue pools that were Aigis's eyes; it was to escape his urge to look at the white skintight clothing that Aigis was wearing. He had burned off parts of the clothing in the arms and the legs by reflecting her fire magic.

_If I had burned anything more… I would bleed to death… kinda like Kanji does when he looks at Aria in a Gekkoukan outfit._

Souji thought 'Aria' only because it was about school, but as he stared into Aigis's beautiful eyes; his attention was only about the present.

"Souji-kun…," Aigis suddenly said in the same quiet voice, "What will you do now?"

Souji was taken aback by that statement, even though he was expecting it. What surprised Souji even more was that he sensed Saber had appeared to his right, only a few centimeters behind him. Souji heard his Servant whisper into his ear, "What will you do, Master? Will you make her pay for what she did? Can you do it if that is what you wish? Do I have to?"

Souji was frozen. Saber… Saber had offered to kill Aigis. Only a few days ago, Lancer, Rise's Servant had killed Archer's Master. Yet, he could never imagine having Saber kill another Master, no matter what she had done. She seemed…

_Delicate…_

Souji heard another voice, a voice that he did not expect. She was the young woman who was not supposed to be here, "You knew this was coming, Souji-kun…"

_Rise-chan…_

Souji turned his head behind him slightly to the left. Not only had Rise arrived, but her Servant, a silver-armored lance-wielding man with a diadem and triangular-shaped shield with everything laced in red. It was Lancer and he looked obviously peeved at being here. Rise mouthed the words, "They're safe…"

_Thank god…_

Souji turned his head back to Aigis, only to see her that she had closed the distance to only a few centimeters from his body. She was obviously in pain, but she said in a much more compassionate voice than before, "I did terrible things to you, so I won't blame you if you decide to end my life."

Souji's breath was caught in his throat, "I… I… don't know…"

Souji heard Rise's Servant in the distance, "Hurry up or I'll do it myself."

If Lancer saw Souji's face at the moment… he did not like being rushed, especially not by someone who did not know the person like he did. Aigis's voice was a little scared as she said, "He's right… if you're going to do it… make it quick."

Souji realized something. This was not the Aigis from before. This was an Aigis filled with guilt. He said, "Tell me… was this just for the War? Why go straight for me instead of Rise or Archer's Master?"

Being quite a few centimeters shorter than Aigis, she looked up at Souji with her blue eyes and said, "I was told to… I was ordered to."

_Ordered to? Why?_

Saber cut into the conversation as she asked, "Who!"

"If I tell you… the person will come after me to end my life," Aigis turned her head to Saber. She looked more scared than before, "Archer and her Master were ordered to kill you as well." Aigis let out a deep breath, "I would rather be killed by you, Souji-kun, than the man who told me to kill you."

Souji dropped his head. This was a girl who seemed to be forced to try and kill him, "I can't… kill someone…"

"Someone who threatened to kill every person in the school…," Aigis reiterated.

If you said you were forced…," Souji responded, "I can not… in my good conscious… take your life."

From a good distance away, Lancer said, "She deserves to die, Souji…"

Souji knew that beyond her urgings, her words that she would be fine if he took her life; Souji knew that Aigis was extremely scared of the fact that she could die. There was a difference between killing someone and being killed. It was bad enough that Aigis's cool exterior finally cracked as she touched Souji's right cheek for the first time with no ulterior motive. The last couple of times Aigis touched his cheek; he felt a chill run up his spine. However, the spot on his cheek where Aigis's fingers had brushed his cheek; it felt warm.

"Souji-kun…," Aigis's voice trembled as she muttered his name.

Souji reached out and grasped her left hand. It was the same hand that had touched Souji's cheek. From that action, he pulled the blond-haired girl towards him and placed his shoulder over him. He was close enough to whisper, "I thought I said that I'm not going to kill you."

"Souji-kun…," Aigis's voice was a little more stable and filled with compassion.

"Besides…," Souji let out a deep breath and gasped, "I think… I need to rest. I'm… not as strong as you when it comes to magic."

"He's not going to kill her…," Lancer said to Rise.

Rise did not respond to her Servant. The dark red-haired girl whose hair was tied up in twin pigtails had a dark expression on her face. She did not seem amused that Souji had his arm around Aigis and had turned towards them to leave for the dorm.

As Souji neared with Aigis in tow, Rise muttered, "Let's go, Souji-kun."

Souji nodded in Rise's direction. He heard Aigis mutter an apology to Rise as well, but Rise did not seem to answer the blond-haired girl with the same sincerity that Souji did. The red-haired ex-idol who had abandoned her school uniform for Capri shorts and a magenta tank top followed Souji and Aigis. Suddenly, Souji heard the redhead's Servant tell Rise, "You know… we could get rid of this Master right now. You know… kill Souji…"

Souji stopped moving with Aigis… luckily Aigis stopped as well. He turned his head to see Lancer suggest that Rise kill him. Before Souji could do something or Lancer could even pull out his lance, Saber had her pole arm at the right side of Lancer's neck. Souji did not know where she came from, but the bloodied Saber still appeared to stop Lancer just in case.

_Damn… where did she come from…?_

There was no reason for Saber to fight Lancer as well because Rise exclaimed, "Lancer! I am not going to kill Souji-kun. I thought I explained that to you…"

Lancer turned to his left, where Rise stood and sneered, "I'm sorry you're so soft that you can not even fight your boyfriend." Rise's eyes widened, Lancer added, "Remember… we're in a war…"

Rise closed her eyes, her cheeks were cherry red, "Lancer… please"

Souji shook his head, "Saber… that's enough."

The two Servants reluctantly backed away from each other and moved back towards their Masters. However, Lancer had a disappointed look on his face, while Saber had a disapproving look on her face.

As the group, including Aigis left the port, a young girl with silvery-blond hair that went down past her waist with a dark-colored dress with a white apron walked towards the cinema. She had a cheerful smile on her face as she surveyed the scene. She whispered in an almost cutesy tone, "That's two…"

No one spoke on their way back, not even Souji or Aigis. The awkwardness between the five of them was beyond anything Souji had experienced so far in this war. The shuttle ride had Aigis to his right and Rise to his left. The electricity came from Lancer and Saber sitting three seats apart across from Souji.

_I can't wait to call her Aria again. It will probably calm her down._

Souji was tired. He knew using that reflecting magic tired him out, but understanding that Saber's Noble Phantasm made it worse…

_I'm so sleepy._

The rest of his trip back to the dorm was spent in such a daze Souji barely remembered it, beyond Rise and 'Aria' promising to take Aigis up to one of the girls' rooms and hitting his head on the pillow without even taking off any of his clothes.

* * *

><p><strong>The next morning, Souji's room<strong>

Souji groggily half-opened his eyes to the sound of two people speaking to each other outside his door. He held one of his two pillows against his chest as a higher-pitched female voice said, "Will you wake up Souji-kun? He needs to get up for finals…"

_Finals? Oh shit… I nearly forgot until Rise reminded me._

Souji had forgotten that finals started today… finals that he had no chance to study for because of this fight with Aigis and Assassin last night. As he clutched his pillow, the other voice responded, "Are you sure? He has to be extremely tired."

_That's Aria…_

"You're up, and you're still wounded…," Rise said, "The only reason you're still walking is because you have the most pure mana after Caster."

"Fine…," Aria relented, "But I'm not entering the room." Aria muttered so low that Rise could not hear, "After last time…"

Aria sighed before she moved right in front of the door and called out, "Souji-kun… it's time to get up."

"Aria-senpai…," Souji muttered. He shifted up his neck slightly so he could see his alarm clock. It was still ridiculously early. He gave a response, "Give me ten minutes… I mean this is far earlier than I would get up for a normal school day…"

Aria looked at Rise. Rise nodded in acceptance, so Aria said, "I'll be back in ten minutes."

Souji put his head back down as Aria and Rise walked away to go downstairs for a few minutes. Rise turned her head when Aria said, "So, none of the students will remember anything that happened?"

Rise shook her head, walking down each of the burgundy steps, "Everything Aigis and her Servant did… no one will ever know about."

The two of them hit the bottom of stairs when Rise finished the statement, but neither of them moved from that spot. Aria asked Rise, "Have you seen Aigis this morning?"

Souji adjusted his position on the pillow and readjusted his grip on his pillow that it would be more comfortable. As he gripped the pillow, Souji felt the warmth of the pillow as it snuggled against its neck and murmured softly as it wrapped its arms around Souji.

_Did my pillow… just move? Is my pillow… hugging me? Why is it so warm?_

Souji lifted up his blankets to see a blond-haired young woman with her hair as short as Fuuka with white skintight clothing snuggled up against him. Aigis… was sleeping in his bed.

_What the hell!_

* * *

><p>I really should not have finished this chapter at this exact moment because I am so busy right now, but… I have put it off so long that I'll give you one chapter. I know the ending is about as original as… okay, it's not very original. I hope you enjoy anyways. Well… Auf Wiedersehen<p> 


	7. Chapter 7 Finals for the Servant

_**Chapter 7**_

_**Finals for the Servant**_

_Thoughts_

I own nothing but my lack of creativity. I do not own anything to do with Fate/anything or Persona.

It's Souji mainly because Golden is not out and Ultimate is not out. Also, anime is not worthy of mentioning. Besides, Souji has been added to my spell check. I use first names because… I am writing in English for this story. If you want Japanese, I am not in the mood today or tomorrow. I will, however, use –san and –chan and whatever else if it refers to the Persona characters because this is Tatsumi Port Island (P3 world). I will go with how the games use the names.

Servants will be 'Personas' and the Personas will not match up to the Personas in their respective games. If I said this would not be just a little AU on personalities on the Masters and locations, I would have you send me to the nearest mental institution. If I don't take other liberties with a few things, not gender, but slight variations on weapons and appearances… I would still be struggling on what Servants would be what. They have to be humanoid, yes? Yes, girl servants will have boy masters and vice-versa.

I will use my skills in German and then bastardize it for the spells.

Relationships? Haven't decided on it…

I'll be using Saber said, "… when it has to do anything about being a Servant. It'll be Aria said, "… when it has to be being human-like." Why? I like being confusing or maybe… I like making Saber human-like?

* * *

><p><strong>Souji's room, early morning<strong>

Souji and his Servant had struggled mightily in a fight against a very powerful pale-faced samurai-esque Servant that nearly ripped apart an extremely beautiful young woman that Souji believed should not be fighting at all. The black-haired girl looked almost delicate at times… except when she was driving her pole arm into someone's chest.

After the fight where he had finally achieved the ability to reflect magic and spared the life of the Master who had threatened to kill every student in the school, Souji was able to sleep soundly for a few hours. He did not want to get up either, considering what awaited him were finals that he did not have a chance to study for. He had resisted Aria's, his Servant's name outside of battle, first attempt to wake him and get him out of bed because it was too early in the morning. He wanted his ten extra minutes and he was getting it.

Souji's head was resting on a pillow while he had another pillow grasped around his arms. With the extra ten minutes being granted by Aria, he readjusted the pillow that he was holding in his arms. When Souji pressed the pillow a little closer to his chest, he felt the pillow move. It snuggled against Souji's chest and murmured softly before wrapping its arms around him.

_Did my pillow just talk? Hug me? Why… is it so warm?_

Souji moved the blankets that were covering all the way up to his neck just slightly so he could this moving pillow. What he saw was definitely not a pillow…

_Oh dear god…_

The Master, whose life he had spared only a few hours earlier, the pretty blond-haired girl with her hair cut extremely short was sleeping next to him, snuggled up against his chest. He had fallen asleep with his clothes on, and so had she, but… the clothes she was wearing last night and was wearing while snuggled up against him.

_Those clothes…_

The white skintight clothing that the Master wore was a sort of battle regalia and though it covered everything… it was truly skintight.

_Oh…_

Souji's face was a healthy shade of pink as he whispered, "Aigis-chan…" He had used –san for as long as he knew her, but now… it just did not seem to fit.

Souji moved his right arm just enough to shake her shoulder. The resulting action made Aigis open her eyes slightly. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of light blue that were easy for a boy to get lost into. When she noticed Souji shaking him, she muttered, "Souji-kun."

Souji asked her in a worried yet quiet tone, "What are you doing here?"

"I… I wanted to thank you for sparing me…," Aigis answered, still not completely awake. She was not completely awake, but her cheeks were just as pink as Souji's.

"Couldn't you have done that without sneaking into my bed?" Souji said; his volume staying the same but the tone of his voice rising in vehemence. He continued, "What if Rise-chan… or Aria-senpai walks in here?"

"Aria-senpai…?" Aigis looked confused, "Oh… of course, Saber…" She had forgotten momentarily about the name of Souji's Servant outside of the Holy Grail War. She answered Souji's question, but she looked dissatisfied as she answered, "Rise-chan helped me up a room, but it was not ready for me to sleep in. None of my stuff is here, obviously, so…"

"Why not ask to sleep in one of the girls' rooms?" Souji muttered, "And why are you still wearing this?" Souji did not want to gesture towards her clothing because he was afraid he might touch something he should not. He hoped Aigis got the idea of what he was asking.

"Well… it looked like there was a lot of tension last night, so I didn't want to make it worse," Aigis told Souji, "Well… I was going to borrow one of Rise's school uniforms, but I can't exactly wear that to bed."

_Wearing that would have been better than this… It's like she's sleeping naked…_

Souji's thoughts of that made him blush even harder. He had to think about Mitsuru executing him to prevent a nosebleed. He wondered what happened to the monotone girl who seemed manipulative and cold. She looked scared last night, compassionate after he spared her, and now… she was daring enough to sneak into his bed. She was still acting a little meek and nervous after doing so.

"Are… you mad at me?" Aigis's head had moved back against his chest, except her eyes were now looking up at him.

_Ahh… don't look at me with those eyes! It's like hypnosis._

Souji shook his head, "I'm not mad, per say. It's just… awkward."

Aigis was about to respond to Souji's statement when he heard a knock on the door. The words that came from behind the door made Souji's eyes widen as he heard, "Souji-kun… It's Aria. Have you gotten up yet? It's imperative because Aigis-chan has disappeared and we need you to help look."

Souji gulped and looked down at the young woman who had somehow snuck into his room without him knowing. Aria and most likely Rise knew Aigis had slipped away, and if they decided to enter his room; he was screwed.

"What should we do…?" Aigis looked slightly worried.

Souji slipped out of the bed, removing himself from Aigis's grasp… as comfortable as it might have been. He needed a course of action that had the slightest chance of either of them or both of them getting caught, so he decided on one. He explained to the blond-haired classmate who was still lying in his bed, "I'm going out first. After I leave, I'm going to distract any boy or girl who might be on this floor so you can wash up and head back up to the third floor without any issues."

Souji could not tell if Aigis was smiling, but she answered, "Okay…"

Souji went over to his dresser, "I need to change, so stay under the covers while I put on some new clothes."

Souji swore he heard some sort of pouting voice from behind the covers. Souji sighed as he put on a new school uniform with dress pants and the white short-sleeved button-up.

_As long as Aigis doesn't get caught and causes more conflict or controversy._

Souji tried to hurry and finish dressing, washing up, and pop his collar so he could leave the room. He had to leave and make sure Rise and Aria are nowhere near the second or third floor so Aigis could vacate his room and get back to where she belonged.

_I don't know if any others are around though. If Fuuka, Yosuke, or anyone else like Mitsuru are milling around… it's even worse because at least Rise and Aria will have the slightest amount of understanding._

Worrying aside, Souji knew that unless he acted, all of his worries would be for naught. His voice was as soft as possible as he said, "Okay… I'm leaving for downstairs to intercept Aria-senpai and Rise-chan. You go upstairs to Rise-chan's room to change."

Souji grabbed his school bag, which was against the nightstand, and hurried out of the room. Thankfully, neither of the second-years he was worried about were present, or Yosuke for that matter. Souji walked down the burgundy carpet, able to relieve a little of his worries knowing Aigis would at least be able get out of the room undetected, before he headed down from the second floor.

Souji turned his head from side-to-side as he hit the bottom step, but he did not see Aria or Rise. Instead, he saw the shorter, green-haired second-year who Souji was close to named Fuuka.

Fuuka smiled slightly at Souji's appearance coming down the stairs, which was a bit of a surprise to him. He had avoided her, unintentionally, the past couple of days because of the events going on. There was little Souji could have done about that; he was busy fighting Aigis and her Servant, Assassin. He could formally apologize to her, but she would never accept it. The best thing for him to do around her was to… just be himself.

Souji kept a large smile on his face when he said to his green-haired friend in 2-E, "Hey Fuuka…"

"Souji-kun…," she replied. She gestured towards a small bento box, "I made lunch for you." She looked rather nervous as she continued, "I was hoping we could eat together today."

_She seemed to have forgotten that she had been under Aigis's mind control a few days ago. If she wants to eat together…_

Souji nodded, trying not to show too much emotion as he said, "Sure… I'll eat lunch with you."

Fuuka looked happy at Souji's answer, enough so that she had a larger than usual smile on her face. She reached out her right hand to touch his. Souji wanted; he felt like he should pull back his hand before she made contact, but he did not. However, right before her fingers touched his in gratitude for accepting her offer of eating together, her mouth opened wider and a look of surprise appeared on her face. She stepped back quickly.

_Was she not aware that she was going to touch my hand?_

"I'm so sorry…," Fuuka said, red touching her cheeks like it had done many times before in the past few days, "I forgot… I have to set up my classroom again today. I switched days with Minako-san."

Souji watched Fuuka rush away, grabbing her own bento box from the l-shaped table before leaving through the double wooden doors of the dorm. He was unsure if she had really forgotten that she had switched with her orange-haired friend, or that it was just a convenient excuse for a very shy girl who was about to touch him to get away without too much trouble.

With Fuuka out of the dorm, Souji turned away from the l-shaped counter and the three couches to try and sort out his current problem. Souji moved just to the foot of the stairs, looking as far as he could; he hoped to see the third floor… and Aigis.

Aigis was the reason he had rushed down to the first floor in the first place and he had no idea if the former Master of Assassin was even on the third floor. She could still be stuck in his room on the second floor, hiding from Rise and Aria. He had left his room alone for obvious reasons, and wanted a staggered disappearance between the pair. He had to wait and see if Aigis made it to Rise's room without being caught by the ex-idol or Aria so the blond-haired girl could change from her battle regalia to a borrowed school uniform.

_It's just… how much room is there for Aigis to hide and maneuver so she doesn't get caught by either Aria or Rise. The dorm isn't very big and the hallways are straight lines. She would have to be very sneaky about hiding in my room and then going straight to Rise's room._

A minute later, all three of the girls came downstairs at the same time. The blond-haired Aigis, with it cut so short that it did not even cover her ears; she was flanked by the other two girls. Aria was to Aigis's right, pushing up her thin-rimmed glasses as her long black hair shifted slightly to lock eyes with Souji when she turned her head. To Aigis's left was Rise, her dark red hair back in its trademark twin ponytails that went past her shoulders today. She had a smile on her face for Souji when she turned her head towards him. Neither Rise nor Aria had actually seen him this morning; they had only called out for him outside his door when Souji had awoken to find the blond-haired second-year sleeping in his bed.

Souji met Aigis's eyes as the three girls hit the bottom step. The light blue pools that she had used as intoxicating weapons against him and others; they were actually really pretty when Souji made eye contact with them.

_It's amazing… when I actually have a chance to look at her eyes without fear of being drawn into a spell. Those eyes are really beautiful._

Rise spoke first, as she said, "Hey, Souji-kun… we're finally ready."

"Sadly, we are now cutting it close until the time finals start…," Aria muttered. She rubbed a spot on her arm that had been slashed open by Assassin last night.

Souji was unsure of what to say; it was mainly because they did not immediately say anything about Aigis. It was the typical stoic personality of Aria and bubbly personality of Rise that sometimes unnerved Souji. When they acted normal, there was usually an ulterior motive behind it.

Souji decided to try and act normal as he gripped his bento box a little harder as he said, "So, Aigis-chan… did you sleep okay?"

_Aigis-chan? She tried to kill me, Aria, and the rest of the people in the school all of last night… and it just slipped out. Actually… I've been calling her Aigis-chan all morning and I haven't noticed it._

Aria frowned, noticing my casualness towards Aigis. She said, "She is the reason why we took so long." She sighed and pushed up her glasses, "She should be thankful because the only reason she's still alive is because Souji-kun is such a sweet and forgiving Master."

Rise shook her head; the smile on her face belies her typical attitude during anything related to the Holy Grail War. Here, she was acting like a cheerful high school girl. "She's just a normal high school girl now. She is not our enemy anymore."

"Let's not discuss it here…," Souji waved his hand around his waist while biting his lip.

Aria nodded in agreement with Souji's statement. The dorm was not the best place for a discussion about last night's transgressions. Souji thought everyone else besides the three girls had left for school, but he would rather be safe than sorry. It was why he headed out of the dorm with the three of them following closely behind.

As they headed towards the shuttle, Souji knew that the pair wanted a full explanation from Aigis. He wanted a full explanation from her as well. Why she would involve the school needlessly as a form of blackmail? Was she working alone or was it with someone else? Why did Aigis target Souji before he had even become a Servant? He had done a lot for her in a single action, sparing her from execution by either his Servant or Rise's. It took a lot to call off Lancer.

However, they were silent until they reached the shuttle, which was thankfully empty. Most likely, it was due to the late hour. Most adults were at work and school children had taken an earlier shuttle.

Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, Aigis took the seat next to Souji, so Aria and Rise decided to across from them. With the blond's thin bag across her lap, she nudged rather close to the silver-haired second year. Souji could not tell the exact emotions of Aria or Rise, but he swore there was a tinge of jealousy slip on Rise's face. He never knew exactly what Aria was feeling… unless she was pissed at him.

_If they had caught Aigis sleeping in my bed earlier this morning… I'd be dead._

The train moved slowly towards the Gekkoukan stop, so it was not long before Aria put her hands on her knees, moving her bag between her legs, and asked, "Okay, A… Aigis-chan. Will you explain why you tried to kill my Master before he even summoned me?"

Aigis moved her head slightly away from Souji and straightened out her skirt. She took a deep breath before she answered in a much calmer voice than last night, "It's complicated. I was ordered to kill Souji-kun."

Rise apparently did not approve of the answer that Aigis had given, "Who ordered you to kill Souji-kun? Why?"

Aigis's eyes were clouded. She almost looked like she wanted to cry, "I… I have no idea who it was. I'm just a pawn in some big organization. I never met with the actual facilitator who gave the orders; it was always through someone else. From what I guessed, they wanted Souji-kun dead because of what he might become, not what he was at the time."

"You don't even know why…," Rise still did not look convinced by Aigis's statement, "That's not very convincing. You're making me doubt why Souji-kun should have bothered saving you."

Souji looked at Aigis. He swore he saw sparks in her eyes at Rise's barb. Her face held no cheer at being next to Souji or cloudy eyes of being in near tears. Aigis exhaled slowly as she said in a tone that reminded Souji of last night before Aria defeated Aigis's Servant, "The only thing keeping me from ending you is the fact that Souji-kun saved me."

As soon as those words left Aigis's mouth, Souji found himself restraining the blond using his left hand across her torso all the way to her left arm. Rise was being restrained by Aria, but Aria had half a mind to let Rise teach Aigis a lesson. The only reason black-haired girl was restraining her was because there was a possibility Aria's Master could get hurt by accident.

Rise was almost yelling at the now-smirking Aigis, "How dare you! You think you can match my skills!"

_I wonder where Lancer is right now._

Souji noticed Aigis did not have her thin white gloves that she normally wore to school, meaning there was nothing keeping her from using magic. However, there was no way a fight on the shuttle would happen while Souji was there. He did not want it to occur, and not with those two involved.

"Stop…! Both of you!" Souji said succinctly and in such a sharp tone that both of them stopped struggling against the ones who were holding them back that instant, "You're acting foolish…"

Rise muttered in protest, "But this bitch…"

Souji shook his head while still holding Aigis's arm so she could not move towards Rise, "I don't care. You didn't help the situation. If Aigis-chan really doesn't know exactly why she was being sent to kill me, then so be it. Don't hold such a grudge against her. It's in the past now. Aigis-chan is not the Master of Assassin anymore. Aigis-chan is only Aigis-chan."

Rise's glare was focused not on Aigis, but directly on Souji as her venomous words cut through the shuttle, "You can say that all you want. She's still a Master, and that won't stop her from killing you and taking Saber from you." Rise emphasized the word, 'Saber', and did not use the name she had christened the black-haired Servant, 'Aria'.

_Great… she's mad at me now._

Aria responded curtly to Rise, "I will definitely not allow Aigis-chan to kill my Master."

Aigis shook her head, "I wouldn't dare kill Souji-kun." Her voice softened as she said, "I told you this before. The people that told me to kill Souji-kun; they'll be after me now. I need him to protect me."

Souji swore Rise started to laugh as she said in a haughty voice that sounded nothing like her usual tone, "He can barely protect himself. You can only rely on Aria-senpai, Lancer, and me."

_That sounds like what I'd expect out a stuck up idol._

Aria momentarily flashed a look of annoyance towards Rise, but her face soon returned to its stoic self as she said, "I think I can say from experience that my Master is anything but a person who can not protect those he cares for."

Rise raised an eyebrow, "From experience…?"

Souji noticed that the smallest amount of pink touched Aria's cheeks. Even he had no idea what exactly Aria was talking about when it came to protecting those he cared about. In a way, he agreed with Rise in the fact that he was not very strong. He had nowhere as much mana capacity as Aigis or Rise. He was not exactly the cleanup hitter for the baseball club either. He sucked. However, Souji believed he cared about everyone, so he hoped he could protect everyone.

_I am not sure what Aria is talking about._

Souji was sure they were going to argue more, and sure enough, Rise opened her mouth to say something else when the loudspeaker announced that they were arriving at the stop of Gekkoukan High. Rise stood up and stormed out, leaving all of the others behind, but not before muttering something about needing to get to class for her finals and how she had not studied at all because of Aigis's duel last night.

Aigis walked ahead towards the gate, leaving Aria with Souji in a slow gait moving to the left door. Aigis's emotions were nowhere as agitated as Rise's, especially towards Souji. However, she walked far ahead of him all the same.

Except for the two girls who were far ahead of them, Aria and Souji were by themselves as they passed the gate. Aria showed no emotion, so Souji still had no idea if his Servant was displeased with him. A few steps past the gate, Souji bit his lip before he finally asked, "Is there anything wrong with what I said? How I handled the situation?"

Aria turned her head towards Souji as she walked. She looked at him and responded, "No matter what you said, somebody was going to be angry with you. Since you chose to save Aigis-chan last night, any lackluster explanation by her was most likely to anger Rise-chan."

"And I just fueled the flames?" Souji said.

"Rise-chan was already agitated, and you supported Aigis-chan today as well. If you had rebuked her at all… she would not be as agitated," Aria explained.

Souji shook his head, only a few meters from the door now, "I understand that. I want to know how you feel."

Aria said, "It's your decision, Master. The choices you make, whether I approve or not, is our choices. We live with your choices."

Souji was left with those thoughts as the two of them entered the left door of Gekkoukan High and the pair of them separated to put on their school shoes. Souji moved to the 2-F while classroom while Aria headed to her respective classroom. The white marble hallways and floors painted a picture of sterility as Souji moved to the second floor by going up the stairs by the upper right of the lobby.

Souji entered 2-F to see his dorm mates already in the class. Right next to the door, Junpei, the tall cap-wearing short-haired young man was talking to the short-tempered and short-haired brunette, Yukari. There was mumbling as Souji reached his seat, flanked by a brown-haired boy who wore red headphones around his neck and a unnaturally smiling Aigis.

Yosuke confronted Souji as soon as the silver-haired second year took his seat, asking him, "Dude… Aigis started smiling as soon as you entered the room. Did something happen last night?"

Souji shook his head, giving a short reply, "She's kinda staying at our dorm now."

Yosuke's eyes widened, "You're kidding me. The ice queen is staying at our apartment. She has less emotion than Aria-senpai."

"Well… don't worry too much about it," Souji said, "She's fine."

Yosuke raised an eyebrow, "She doesn't hold a candle to Rise-chan, that's all I know." He turned back to put his books away, which he had been using to do some last minute studying. He added, "I'm walking back with her again today, okay?"

Souji nodded from behind and gave a quick affirmation. He turned to Aigis who said to Souji in a hushed tone, "Can you come with me after school to get my things so I can move in?"

At that point, the teacher that would give the first final was coming in, so Souji rushed his answer, "Yeah… I'll meet you at the entrance."

The first day of finals, or the first half day of finals went about as well as Souji expected. By that, Souji meant that he felt they went pretty poorly. He should have spent the last two nights studying, but he had a duel with Aigis to worry about. He was increasing his mana capacity through a gem one day and dueling with the blond the night before. All in all, he felt completely unprepared. Souji probably would not have studied much in the first place, especially with the fact that six other people and their Servants were trying to kill him; one of them was living in his dorm. She was the least likely to kill him, or the person who was going to try and kill him last.

Souji tried to answer the question on which way the water flowed and asinine questions about English grammar before he finally finished his tests. He was extremely relieved to throw his writing utensil down and grab his green bento box. Yosuke picked up his own bento, going to the first floor classrooms and Rise. At least, that's what Souji believed that's where his dorm mate was headed. Yosuke would find that Rise was in a bad mood. Souji just left 2-F, turned right, left, and up the stairs. He expected to find Fuuka, the person who made his lunch, on the roof. The petite green-haired girl was not there waiting for him. Instead, a taller, almost strawberry blond short-haired second-year held up by a multitude pins stood on the roof near by the bench. This girl, named Minako Arisato, of 2-E was probably one of Fuuka's best friends.

The girl had the smallest smile on her face as Souji said with the slightest amount surprise, "Minako-chan…"

"Souji-kun…," Minako said, "I bet you are wondering why Fuuka isn't here."

_Well, the last time we were supposed to meet… she wasn't here either._

"Well… I guess so," Souji shrugged, somewhat indecisive.

Minako nodded, "It's just that Fuuka is so shy and she likes you so much. I had to set up with her and she kept talking about you and how excited she was about eating lunch with you today."

"Well… if she was so excited about meeting me…?" Souji trailed off.

_She's come here before, no problem. Did she somehow remember what happened a couple days ago? Or even a day or two before that?_

Minako said, "She kind of got a little too shy right after our morning finals ended."

Souji tipped his head slightly, "So… she sent you instead?"

Minako shrugged, but there was a large smile on her face. She said in a flirty voice, "It's not like I mind too much."

Souji shook his head, "Well… are we going to eat lunch then?"

Minako confirmed, "Yep…"

_She's being a tease again._

Souji walked over to the bench where Minako had already sat down during their conversation. Souji untied the cloth around his bento, not looking at the girl sitting next to him. He broke his chopsticks apart, knowing that Minako had a flirtatious smile just waiting for him. Whether it was part of the act, for fun or being put up to it; it was quirky to Souji. Souji did enjoy eating lunch with a girl that did not threaten to kill him, even if it was not the girl he had not originally planned on eating with today.

As usual, the food Fuuka made for him was beyond delicious. Fuuka might have been too shy to eat with him today, but her food made up for that. The only problem was that his dining partner kept stealing part of it, making teasing faces whenever Souji confronted her about it. At times, Minako was worse than the times Rise let her guard down and showed what Souji hoped was her true overtly kind nature.

By the time lunch was about to end, Souji had only finished half of his lunch. In truth, his food was completely gone because Minako had eaten the rest of it using ninja chopsticks.

"Minako-chan…," Souji muttered as he closed his bento, "I'm not letting you eat with me again."

There was a fake pout on Minako's face as she wrapped her half-eaten box, "You're mean, Souji-kun."

"And you're a thief…," Souji accused the deceptively cute girl.

Minako stuck out her tongue, "It's your fault for leaving your food in a place where I can steal it…"

"It was on my lap!" Souji exclaimed, but his voice was not as heated as Rise's voice was a few hours ago. He was actually being a little sarcastic with his faux anger, as he kind of expected this torture.

Minako only winked in response to Souji's outburst before she just about skipped away from Souji and to the stairs to get back to the 2-E classroom. If Souji had not seen her do this at least a couple times before; it would have drove him nuts. Actually, she still drives Souji nuts with her spontaneous actions.

After letting Minako leave the roof, Souji packed up his own lunch and left as well. He headed back towards 2-F where most of the students where already back in the general area of their seats. Souji's eyes immediately turned towards the person who occupied the seat in front of him. Souji's brown-haired friend looked rather distressed and grumpy.

The silver-haired young man walked over to his best male friend and sat down. Souji asked, "What's wrong? Something happen at lunch?"

"Rise-chan wouldn't talk to me. She didn't want to eat lunch with me," shook his head, but not turning his head towards Souji, "She didn't tell me why though because she wouldn't talk to me."

_I knew that was going to happen._

"Do you know why she's acting like this?" Yosuke continued, almost muttering, "I mean… you talk to her a lot, don't you?"

"She's in a bit of a bad mood right now," Souji shrugged, "I guess you'll have to wait until it subsides."

"You didn't cause it, did you?" Yosuke's tone turned into an accusatory one.

Souji responded, "Don't assume so much, Yosuke." He sighed, pulling out what he would need for the next test, "I'm sure she will be okay by the end of the day."

If Yosuke was going to say more, it was interrupted by the arrival of Ms. Toriumi. All of the students were forced to return to their seats and focus on the next set of finals put before them. Souji could hear the almost the hidden, invisible groan from the class as the next final was set before him. He did not feel ready or prepared for the next test, but the finals had to go on.

The afternoon finals went about as well as the morning finals did for Souji. He knew what a comma splice was and where to put it, but it was rather unnecessary to have more than one question about it. He just wanted them to be over. Souji was not sure why he wanted them to be over so badly, considering he would have to deal with Aigis as soon as classes ended and Rise and Aria at the dorms. It was not an entertaining prospect either way.

There was an unnatural sigh of relief emitted from Souji as he put his pencil down and let the feeling that he was done for the day wash over him. Putting his materials back into the bag that was hanging off the right side of his desk, Souji looked up to see that the blond-haired girl sitting next to him was looking straight at him. Aigis was looking expectant while flashing a pearly white smile. When Aigis's and Souji's eyes met, he was staring into seductive light blue pools.

Aigis stood up before Souji had a chance to, and said to him an unnatural cheery sounding voice, "Souji-kun! Are you ready to take me to my place now?"

_That sounds a little awkward._

Her voice was only unnatural because the blond girl had been talking in monotone for as long as class 2-F had known her. A few eyebrows rose at the last statement she made, like Souji expected. Anytime a girl asks a guy straight up to take her to her place instead of walking her home… just sounds off.

Regardless of the awkwardness, Souji responded to Aigis, "Okay, let's go…"

Souji took a glance in front of him as he stood up and saw that Yosuke had already left, most likely to the first year classrooms. Yosuke was probably hoping that Rise was in a better mood than at lunch. The blond short-haired girl and the silver-haired young man left side-by-side out of 2-F and made their way, left and down the stairs. As they walked though school, the rumblings and mumblings grew louder. It made Souji shut his eyes in frustration as his ears were inundated by fellow students' whisperings.

A short-haired girl muttered to another girl as Souji and Aigis passed by, "Now he's walking with that creepy blond-haired girl again. I've seen him walking with Fuuka, Rise-chan, and that third-year."

The second girl whispered back, "I know what you mean. It's like he has a different girl for each day or something."

Souji closed his eyes in frustration at their rumor-mongering. He was used to this shit, but it was annoying to hear people talk about him and a girl all the time. He kind of wondered what Aigis or any of the others thought about hearing their name being dropped as one of his 'harem'.

The two of them split to different sections of the shoe lockers when they arrived by the doorways. On the different sides of the lockers, the voices resonating about Souji being with a different girl almost every day stopped. However, Souji did see Rise and Yosuke pass by at a different group of lockers. Rise gave Souji a momentary glance, and it was not a cheery look. Souji guessed that Rise had at least calmed down enough around the general populace, but not around him.

_I wonder what would happen if I tried to talk to her._

When he placed his school shoes back into his locker and went out of the door, the blond girl was waiting for him. Souji smiled slightly and motioned in the direction of the Gekkoukan school gates so they could begin their journey to move Aigis from her residence to the dorms.

The truth was that Souji had no idea where Aigis lived. He would have to rely on Aigis to take him there. He let her walk slightly ahead of him as they passed the black metal gates.

Souji had to ask his former enemy, "It didn't bother you, does it? What all of those guys and girls have been saying?"

Aigis looked back at Souji and responded, "They were talking about your actions, Souji-kun. They were not necessarily talking about me."

Souji sighed, "It does relate to you, Aigis-chan… in a sense, you know?"

Aigis only gave a smile in response, "I don't care what they say, but if they bother you… I can do something about it."

"Please no…," Souji's mind went straight to Aigis setting the people who were talking about him on fire.

"You're not a lot fun…," Aigis's smile disappeared.

"Sorry…," Souji shrugged. He changed the subject as they reached the shuttle, "Uhh… Aigis-chan? Where exactly do you live?"

"Do you know where we fought last night?" Aigis let the doorway of the shuttle open and stepped inside.

"The port station…," Souji nodded while following her, "Of course…"

Aigis motioned to a pair of open seats in front of them and said, "It's a small place in a back alley at the port."

Souji took one of the open seats that Aigis was offering and asked with a bit of a worried tone, "Isn't a little dangerous around there?"

Aigis's smile shrunk a little as she asked her own question, "Do you think I can not handle myself against a few ruffians?"

"I never said that…," Souji shook his head, "I was just not sure if it was not wise for you to live in such a dangerous place."

Aigis sat down next to Souji and said in a caring voice, "You're just worried about me… worried about what might happen."

The train shuttle was quickly filling with people and just before the door closed, a nearly strawberry blond-haired girl flew into the doorway before it slid shut and took a seat in front of Aigis and Souji. Souji looked at the girl in front of him, and immediately recognized her. Minako was the girl sitting in front of him.

"Souji-kun…," Minako's eyes had focused straight onto him as soon as he sat down. She looked almost passive as she said, "Is that Aigis-chan?"

"Minako-chan…," Aigis nodded.

_Of course Minako sees me with another girl only a few hours after sitting with her for lunch as a replacement for Fuuka._

Souji saw that Minako's face seemed to have darkened slightly because of Aigis's presence. For Minako to move from her perpetual cheery self to an unenthusiastic girl so easily; it was a different girl sitting at Souji's side.

There was an awkward silence between the three of them; Souji was unwilling to say anything to either of the girls. Aigis did not initiate any conversation with Souji either; she might have understood that an excess of dialogue was what caused strife between the two and Rise this morning. Likewise, Minako did not speak to Souji.

_As a matter of fact, I don't know where Minako lives._

Regardless of Souji's lack of information about pretty much everything; he curled his bottom lip as the shuttle made its stops. No words were spoken but just having Minako look at him with an expression that did not fit her was uncomfortable. It made the arrival of the shuttle at the port station that much sweeter because Aigis and Souji could slink away from Fuuka's friend.

Souji walked out ahead of Aigis, but he let her pass ahead of him so she could walk down the stairs of the port station first. Souji surveyed the area that had been home to their duel only a night ago. There looked to be no extensive damage to the area, but Souji could still see striations of the ground caused by Aria or Saber's Noble Phantasm. It had touched the ground at some point as well. The news about the constant attacks, plus the fact that the first duel with Aigis had involved Lancer and a large amount of foliage left among the port; it resulted in the usually bustling port station nearly abandoned. The only people around were the workers of the cinema or flower shops, the people who lived in the little apartments and condos, and oblivious tourists who did not read or pay attention to the news.

Souji followed Aigis towards the dark and dank section of the port island. Aigis looked a little nervous as she passed into the alley, leading Souji to a two story apartment complex that looked like it was in disrepair. Souji held the breath in his throat as Aigis let herself in the building that was across from a small bar.

_There are three guys standing across from us who look like they want to take Aigis to the corner of this alley and…_

Souji looked back at the three muscular guys who were leering at the blond girl. He tried giving some sort of face that would tell them to at least back off somewhat. The only response from the rough-looking guys who were most likely high school dropouts was a straight stare that unnerved the silver-haired young man.

_At least if the three of them come after Aigis she could fry their asses._

Aigis had not even paid attention to what was going on behind her, and instead took a right into the dilapidated building and then went up the stairs to the second level. Souji reluctantly followed the short-haired blonde up the stairs as she walked to the apartment farthest down to the left. As she stopped by her apartment, or whatever it was; Aigis pulled out a rusty-looking key and placed it in a rusty-looking lock. The door creaked as she slowly opened the door and Souji shut his eyes… not really wanting to see what it looked like on the inside.

"Come on in, Souji-kun," Aigis said.

Souji opened his eyes, stepped in the doorway, and saw that it was as he feared. There were at least two large holes in the back wall that were made a long time ago. Both the dresser and the bed were in bad shape, with the bed looking like the springs were about to burst through the mattress. There was a small coffee table, or something that looked like one… except that one of the legs was not the same height as the rest. It was only a few of the things that made this one and a half room apartment a dump.

_Aigis lives here? Good god!_

Aigis's face had a look of someone who had no issue of living in a place like this. She turned around to face Souji and said, "Well… this is it…"

Souji tried to smile at the apartment, at Aigis, but he could not. It was just too hard to smile at the situation. He was amazed that someone like her could live her, and that whoever was giving the orders to kill him would might try and come after her here.

Aigis realized Souji was not going to say anything, so she decided to bring up another topic. She said, "Umm… Souji-kun? Can I ask you something?"

Souji forgot about what was surrounding him if only for an instant and responded, "Sure…"

Aigis asked, "Who was the girl that was sitting across from us in the shuttle?" She continued, "I feel like I made her a little uncomfortable…"

Souji lowered his head slightly for a second and answered, "I kinda… ate lunch with her on the rooftop today."

"Oh…," it was Aigis's turn to look a little uncomfortable.

Souji quickly responded, "She was filling in for Fuuka-chan, who did not have the courage to come and eat with me today."

Aigis's smile returned somewhat as she tried to deduce the situation, "It's just… I wasn't sure how that girl knew my name. I don't remember threatening her or anything like that when I had a Servant. I did not have any contact with you and her."

"I don't know…," Souji shrugged, "… It might be that Fuuka mentioned you at some point."

"Maybe…," Aigis said. The blond girl shook her head and said, "Why don't we get started on moving me out? We can worry about Fuuka-chan's friend later."

"If that's what you want…," Souji said. He said, "So where do you want to start?"

Aigis bent down beneath her dilapidated bed and pulled out a small suitcase. She said, "Why don't you help me by taking my stuff out of the top drawer of my dresser?"

Souji nodded in response, not noticing the mischievous smile Aigis had on her face. He took the few steps to Aigis's dresser while Aigis started putting things from her nightstand into the case. As he pulled open the top drawer, Souji immediately stepped back in shock as Aigis turned back around; she was smiling even wider.

_What the hell!_

Souji had realized as soon as he opened the drawer that it was a nasty trick by Aigis. She had asked Souji to clean out her underwear and other unmentionables. His face was slowly turning a deeper shade of red every second until he turned away and called out to Aigis, "Aigis-chan! What is this!"

Aigis replied in a cheery voice, "Is there a problem?"

_Of course there's a problem!_

It was almost as bad as when Aigis hid in his bed wearing her skintight battle uniform. Souji wanted to back away as soon as possible. He closed the top drawer temporarily despite a growing yet sickening urge to keep it open. He shook his head, driving away those thoughts. He said, "Is there something else… I can start with?"

Aigis's smile dropped slightly into a bit of a pout as she said, "And here I thought you'd be excited. You can help pack up some of my household items."

Souji gave a sigh of relief as he moved away from the dresser and began to pack items of a less sensitive nature into a second bag. Aigis went from the nightstand to packing up sets of her school uniforms. Souji was more than grateful for Aigis when she packed the 'clothes' Souji did not want to touch in the top drawer of the dresser. It was still a shock when she pulled out a few more of those skintight 'battle attire' uniforms that were best described as 'clingy'. He struggled enough reaching past her shoulder to help Aigis pack her summer shirts and shorts.

_I didn't even know she wore these kinds of clothes in the summer._

It was not a strenuous task, but Souji felt a little worn out when they finally zipped up the suitcase and the bag holding some of her household items. When Aigis had packed the last few toiletries into a small bag and shoved it into the bigger bag, she looked to Souji. She said to Souji, "Souji-kun… I think we're done…"

"I think we're ready to go then…," Souji nodded.

Souji ended up carrying what he found out to be a very heavy bag and the heavy suitcase down the two floors as Aigis turned in her apartment key to an old and crotchety looking landlady. She spent her whole time giving Souji a bad look while Aigis filled out her paperwork.

_What is she expecting! That I'm going to do something while I'm carrying a hundred and fifty kilograms of luggage._

He was thankful that the three menacing young men were not present in the alley when the two of them slowly made their back towards the shuttle. The slow pace was because of Souji's impediment, caused by Aigis. She had offered to help Souji as he started up the stairs to the shuttle, but he declined out of chivalry and overbearing pride. Aigis, however, still seemed worried for him.

"Are you alright?" She asked for the second time in five hundred meters, "It looks like you're really struggling."

Souji grimaced and did his best to shake his head to show he was alright. He responded, "I'm okay… a little more and I can put this down."

The worried look on Aigis's face did not disappear until Souji dropped the bag and suitcase onto the floor of the shuttle, shocking the few people in the car with them. He rubbed his right shoulder with a sore left hand. He knew that his shoulder was probably either pink or red from shouldering the heavy load. It had been pretty painful and the fact that he had gone slowly only made it worse. The only item that was still in his lap was his school bag, which he had almost forgotten in Aigis's apartment.

_I really am pretty weak…_

Aigis had taken the seat next to Souji and a minute into the shuttle ride, the blond asked, "It is okay that I didn't bring my bed and furniture, right?"

Souji nodded, "Rise-chan or Aria-senpai will talk to Mitsuru-senpai and she'll have everything set up before you go to bed tonight."

Aigis's face dropped a little so Souji asked, "What is it?"

"Rise-chan has to talk to Mitsuru-senpai?" Aigis frowned slightly while shifting in her seat rather uncomfortably.

"She will keep her promise," Souji shook his head, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, "I'm sure she will not do anything to spite you." He put his right hand on his forehead momentarily, "If she does not do it, I'm sure Aria-senpai will."

"The girl I tried to kill…," Aigis refuted.

"If I remember right, you tried to kill me; you had your Servant try to kill Aria-senpai," Souji responded.

"That makes it even worse…," Aigis said. The girl sighed, but suddenly smiled and added in a cheerful voice, "If they refuse to give me a room… I'll just stay in your room again."

Souji put his right forefinger and thumb to the bridge on his nose, "I think that would make the situation that much worse."

_Don't remind me of her sneaking into my bed last night._

"You'll be okay, don't worry… you won't have to sleep in my room," Souji kept his fingers by his nose.

The few others in the shuttle car must have heard the high school boy as they stared at his statement. He could not judge exactly how Aigis was feeling at the moment. He assumed it was best to say that she was at least glad to have a place to stay that was protected by two more Masters and their Servants, even if she could not stay in his bed. He was thankful for that, no matter how cute she was.

Souji struggled carrying the heavy load out of the shuttle towards the dorm where a seemingly constantly growing amount of people… usually girls… were finding their way into a permanent residence. The only person who was not staying at the dorm who was a mainstay at Rise's side was her Servant. Then again, Souji never knew where he was… considering he was almost always invisible due to her high mana ability and level.

_And my level sucks…_

Souji needed help from Aigis to open the two heavy wooden doors. It was not a second after he passed through the doors that the short-cut blond opened for him that he spotted the sea-foam green-haired girl who was apparently too shy to meet him for lunch today. A regretful and sorrowful expression was present on Fuuka's face as Souji dropped the luggage that was killing him.

"Souji-kun…," Fuuka said simply.

Aigis walked straight by Souji and said, "I'll take the bags from here."

Souji was not exactly sure why Aigis said that, but it might have had something to do with the fact that she had taken control of Fuuka's mind a few days ago and used her personally before threatening to kill the rest of the students in the school.

As Aigis passed by him with the bags she was now carrying, Souji looked straight at the girl named Fuuka and said, "Fuuka-chan… I missed you this afternoon."

Fuuka blushed slightly, as Souji knew she would. She shifted uneasily, moving her feet from side to side on the burgundy carpet while muttering an apology of some sort. She finished with, "I just could not make it today. Sorry, Souji-kun…"

"It's okay…," Souji put his head down slightly and barely shook it from side to side, "You can eat lunch with me tomorrow and the rest of the days until finals are over, okay?"

Fuuka brightened slightly at Souji's remark and nodded in agreement. She changed the subject slightly, "How are the exams going for you so far?"

Souji could not admit he did not really study for them at all, or the reason why he was so unprepared. Still, he answered, "Ehh… I don't feel so good about them."

Fuuka frowned, "Did you not study?"

Souji shrugged, trying to hide the truth, "Well…"

"If you don't do well, you'll have to go to Summer School…," Fuuka's face dropped slightly. It was mainly because of her next comment, "If you don't do well, you can't go with me to the…"

Souji heard Fuuka trail off into a mutter with pink cheeks and he knew exactly what was going on. It was a typical Fuuka moment where her shyness was taking over.

_If all of this craziness had not started… I just might just have started to gather myself and go out with her. Now… I put her in danger once and I don't want to do it again…_

Souji sighed, thinking about what he should do and say to Fuuka before he settled on a quick comment, "I'll be fine. I'll pass and I'll have all the free time in the world."

The comment did at least temporarily assuage Fuuka's worries, if not her pink cheeks. She made another quick apology so she could leave Souji's side before she made another comment that would make her blush even more. The whole display… it was something Souji had come to expect… especially after he had become a Master.

_So… now what should I do?_

Fuuka was most likely headed up towards the third floor, and Aigis was most likely moving into her own room if one was ready for her. He did not really know where Rise or Aria was, much less any of the other guys or girls. Souji had not really seen much of Chie, Kanji, or Junpei around the dorm. He had seen Junpei from time to time, but that was only because they were both in class 2-F. He could not say he had seen Mitsuru or Akihiko either. The point was moot because Souji needed to study for the rest of his finals. He followed the same path that the girls had taken, past the l-shaped counter and three plush couches, and up the stairs. Souji, however, stopped at the second floor. He walked down the burgundy path to the farthest away from the stairs and dug in his pockets for his key. He had to make sure he had not lost his room key. Losing the key meant an execution by the closest thing they had to a dorm mother, Mitsuru. If Souji was facing an execution from Mitsuru, not even his Servant could save him from the sometimes icy yet regal third year.

Finding the key in his right pocket, Souji inserted it into the lock. He turned the key and opened the door and walked into the room he had left so hastily this morning. To Souji's surprise, the bed had been made by the person who hid inside his sheets this morning. He stepped inside and placed the school bag by his nightstand. He went straight from the nightstand to his desk and pulled open the middle drawer on the left; it was the drawer above where his spell tome was. Souji sat down on his desk chair and did the only thing he could to put his mind off of Rise, Aigis, and pretty much anything to do with the Holy Grail War. He opened up the school book and started studying trigonometry.

_This is so boring…_

Studying math felt like a waste of time, but he was so engrossed with it that he nearly forgot to come down for dinner. When he came down, he suffered through another experience with a cold Rise, an overzealous Yosuke, and a shy Fuuka. Surprisingly, Mitsuru, Akihiko, and even Chie were around for Fuuka's excellent cooking. Kanji and Aigis showed up in the middle of the meal as well. The only one missing was Souji's Servant.

_She's probably… around…_

Souji went back from dinner straight back to studying, barely talking to Fuuka. He did not bother talking to Rise during that time, and instead buried himself in his books. He had a lot of studying to make up for due to Aigis's transgressions, even if he had the feeling that he should not really blame her. He was glad to finally turn in after studying aimlessly for more hours than he planned to.

_It's all to keep my mind off of the girls._

* * *

><p><strong>Next morning<strong>

"Aigis-chan!"

Souji had pulled himself up out of his bed into a sitting position to see Aigis standing above him. It was a shock to say the least to see the blond in his room for the second morning in a row. He exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"I was lonely…," Aigis fiddled with her red ribbon aimlessly.

Souji looked straight at her until he met her blue eyes and said, "That's no reason for you sneak in my room… again"

Souji swore Aigis was pouting at his response. Reluctantly, she stepped back and let him step out of the bed. He had to be a bit pushy to get the blond out of his room so he could wash up and change. For the second time in two days, Souji barely managed to leave the dorm in time for him to get to the shuttle with Fuuka, Aigis, and Chie. Rise had left early with Yosuke, obviously still unhappy with Souji and Aigis.

The rest of the exams over the next few days went mainly the same way as the others, with Aigis only sneaking in his room the first two days of finals. He ate lunch with Fuuka; she had somehow managed to muster up the courage to eat with him up on the rooftop. He also walked home with Fuuka during the rest of the finals, though also with one or two of the other dorm mates. His tests went the same as the others; he felt as lost as before because of the lack of studying for them. There was one advantage, however. He was not fighting, not researching spells from his tome, and not being threatened by anyone.

After the last day of finals, Souji headed back towards the dorm with Fuuka and Chie. As they rode the shuttle, Souji looked at Chie and said, "Have you talked to Yosuke lately?"

Chie shook her head, "He's always hanging around Rise-chan…"

"It's a phase…," Souji lied through his teeth, "Yosuke is hanging out with Rise-chan because he wants to."

_He's enamored with her and he's always been enamored with her._

"That's a lie…," Chie replied. She added, "They're always together these past few days…"

_It doesn't help that she is still annoyed at me._

Souji kept his lips closed before blowing his breath up towards his nose and hair. He finally responded, "I promise… I'll change that in the next few days."

"You'd do that for me?" Chie looked expectant.

Souji knew… Chie secretly liked Yosuke. If Rise's anger would disappear from her mind, she would probably start bugging him again. When Yosuke was unable to be around Rise; he would get annoyed. If Yosuke was annoyed, he would be unlikely to start hanging out with Chie. It was quite a conundrum, but it was something he just promised to Chie.

Souji withheld a sigh as he confirmed, "Sure…"

The three of them walked from the shuttle to the five story dorm. Souji opened the double doors to see the girl with red hair down past her waist waiting for him. Mitsuru was an impending presence, the strongest-willed person of the group. It was why he was scared of losing his room key. Souji looked at Mitsuru as Chie and Fuuka stood to either side of him.

"Good… you've arrived…," Mitsuru nodded.

Souji nodded in response, affirming Mitsuru's words.

Mitsuru crossed her arms as she continued, "I told the others who've already arrived, and I've talked to my father…"

_Her dad is the CEO of some huge conglomerate._

"He's agreed to let us stay at our summer home for a few days after the end of the first term," Mitsuru's face slowly curved into a smile.

_What!_

"Summer home…?" Souji was downright shocked. He continued, "Like a vacation…?"

Mitsuru nodded again, "That's… if you have passed your classes…"

_I knew I should have studied English instead of studying spells._

* * *

><p>Okay… This is definitely the choppiest chapter outside of my edits. All sorts of things have caused the delay. If you really want to know the reasons, message me. Hope the read was enjoyable. Auf Wiedersehen.<p> 


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